Real Madrid visit Valencia with chance to draw level atop La Liga

Real Madrid travel to Mestalla on Saturday to face Valencia in La Liga, with a win giving them the chance to draw level on points with league leaders Barcelona. The match is scheduled for 9 p.m. local time, with published listings giving the kickoff as 8 p.m. GMT or 9 p.m. GMT. The game has not yet been played in the previews, and the lineups remain expected rather than confirmed in the reports.

Madrid enter the fixture third with 27 points from 11 matches, three behind Barcelona and one behind second-placed Atlético Madrid. Barcelona and Atlético are due to meet on Sunday, so a Madrid victory would provisionally put them level with Barcelona on 30 points before that game. Madrid have won seven consecutive matches in all competitions, including four straight league games and a 3-2 Champions League victory over AEK Athens in midweek.

Valencia are 19th with nine points from 11 league matches. They have won two league games this season and scored eight goals. Their most recent result was a 1-0 victory over Elche, secured by Umar Sadiq, which ended a three-match run without a win, according to Valencia coach Javier Aguirre.

Madrid coach José Mourinho described the Mestalla fixture as...