Having recently met in the semi-finals of the Supercopa de Espana, Real Madrid and Valencia square off in a rescheduled La Liga fixture.
Los Blancos prevailed on penalties after a stalemate in that encounter in Saudi Arabia, but have been inconsistent in recent weeks.
Although they are having another strong season, the reigning champions of Spain and Europe are experiencing somewhat a rocky stretch.
First of all, the Merengues lost in Super Cup final to perennial rivals Barcelona. They then struggled with Villarreal in Copa del Rey, winning 3-2 after coming back from a 2-0 deficit.
Finally, they were held to a score-less draw by Real Sociedad in their most recent La Liga fixture, leaving them five points behind leaders Barcelona. Carlo Ancelotti's men will now have to put pressure on the Blaugrana and try to pull them back.
Valencia, meanwhile, have endured a disappointing campaign and come into this fixture only one point above the relegation zone.
The Gennaro Gattuso era at Valencia came to a sour end this week after just seven months at the helm, leaving Los Che in complete mess as they prepare for Real Madrid on Thursday.
A 1-0 loss to Real Valladolid on Sunday means they have collected just one point from their last four league games, which makes this an inviting fixture for the hosts as they try to get back to winning ways— but Los Blancos will need to be more clinical here after firing a blank despite creating plethora of chances against Sociedad last time out.
Real Madrid vs Valencia confirmed lineups
Real Madrid XI (4-3-3): Courtois; Nacho, Militao, Rudiger, Camavinga; Modric, Kroos, Ceballos; Asensio, Benzema, Vinicius Jr
Valencia XI (4-3-3): Mamardashvili; Foulquier, Gabriel, Diakhaby, Gaya; Musah, Guillamon, Almeida, Castillejo; Cavani, Lino
Real Madrid vs Valencia LIVE updates
Real Madrid's upcoming games
After hosting Valencia, Real Madrid will make the trip to Iberostar Estadia on 5th February to take on Mallorca in another La Liga fixture before flying to Morocco for the Club World Cup where they will meet one of Seattle Sounders, Al Ahly, or Auckland City in the semi-final on 8th February.
