Real Madrid vs Real Valladolid
There was a certain inevitability once the final whistle on El Clasico had blown.
Such is the way Real Madrid is run: the club has actually parted company with managers before straight after European Cup and La Liga success.
So the chances of Julen Lopetegui surviving were always slim.
Now with a temporary replacement in the post, step forward Santiago Solari, Real need to embark on a run of winning form to get the confidence back, as much as to close the seven-point gap on leaders Barcelona.
Talking Points
When the season concludes next May, Real Madrid will have provided many La Liga 2018 news stories.
The first two months of the new campaign alone have ensured that.
Their most recent home game domestically ended in embarrassment but, as unlikely as Levante’s famous win was at the Bernabeu, there is surely no chance of a repeat from newly promoted Real Valladolid (even if they are two points ahead of the European champions going into this clash).
A sumptuous last-gasp free-kick from Daniele Verde earned them a 1-1 draw against Espanyol last time out, meaning they have picked up 14 points out of a possible 18 and are fast gaining respect under the guidance of coach Sergio Gonzalez.
It’s quite a turnaround from their stuttering start when they picked up just two points from their first four matches.
That run has included four straight victories and three clean sheets in four games.
In addition, their defensive resilience means only Atletico Madrid have kept as many clean sheets (five).
The way football works, however, means all eyes will be on the hosts on Saturday.
As quickly as Lopetegui was making a brief farewell statement, Solari was being promoted on an interim basis to the hub of a club which can be as graceless as it can be great in the way it treats its managers.
As fans turn their ire on skipper Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema – the trio upon which they place so much expectation – Solari is preparing to face Gonzalez’s team for the second time in a matter of weeks.
Only last month, he was in charge of Castilla (Madrid’s reserve team) and faced the Valladolid B team.
His first piece of news hardly helped lift the mood after it was confirmed French defender Raphael Varane had been ruled out for three weeks with a muscle injury in his right adductor.
Solari is the fifth coach to be promoted from the club’s Academy to Los Blancos’ first team.
Having progressed through the youth ranks, this was his third year at Real’s academy. He has forged his career on the benches at La Fabrica, from where he has now made the leap to the first team.
The next fortnight may well shape whether he has a long-term career in management or not.
History
The last two meetings in Madrid between these sides have resulted in home victories: one convincing, one less so.
In November 2013, a Bale hat-trick and a Benzema goal sealed a 4-0 triumph.
Seven months earlier, it took a Cristiano Ronaldo double and goals from Kaka and Angel Di Maria to edge out their plucky opponents in a seven-goal thriller.
Although they were held at home in the Copa del Rey in 2005, you have to go back to February 2000 for the last time Valladolid won there in La Liga.
Then a goal from Victor clinched a memorable 1-0 success at the season’s end, a campaign in which Real finished fifth, Valladolid eight and the title was won by Deportivo La Coruna who actually traded places with the team from the north-west of Spain at the end of the last term.
Betting Tip
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Real Madrid vs Real Valladolid | First Half Asian Handicap Real Madrid -1.00 @ 2.16 |
| November 3, 23:15 (GMT+8) |
Real Madrid are overwhelming favourites with SBOBET and La Liga 2018 betting odds, just as they have been for most games this season.
They are priced 1X2 @ 1.19 compared to Valladolid at a very distant @ 14.50.
The unlikeliness of a draw pays out @ 6.20.
With Asian Handicap odds, they are backed -2.00 @ 1.87 and -2.25 @ 2.14 with the visitors + 2.00 @ 2.06.
Over 3.75 goals will actually only get you odds of @ 2.19, in line with total goal 4-6 @ 2.17 and total goal 2-3 at a slightly more attractive @ 2.37.
A standard 2-0 home win in the correct score options will give you odds @ 7.00 and that would certainly be a solid start to recovery.
I cannot see Real not winning and proving a point from the start.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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