Carlo Ancelotti spent his Christmas studying videos of West Brom ahead of Real Madrid’s return to action tomorrow night.
Madrid open 2025 with a trip to Valencia as they look to extend their five-match unbeaten run – a run which included an Intercontinental Cup success against Pachuca in Qatar.
The trip to Mestalla will see Madrid face a Valencia side playing under new boss Carlos Corberan for the first time.
Corberan was appointed on Christmas Eve and tasked with taking the club out of the relegation places.
His previous role was with English Championship side West Brom and Ancelotti has been studying the Baggies to see if he can get any clues about how Valencia might set up.
He said: “We looked at how his strategy was working at West Brom. And then we have to see how we can adapt it to the characteristics of the [Valencia] players.
“Valencia, by the way, they played under [previous boss Ruben] Baraja was a team that was getting closer. We evaluated both things.
🆙 @vinijr 🆙#RMCity pic.twitter.com/0yslVNYSis
– Real Madrid CF (@realmadrid) January 2, 2025
Ancelotti wary of new manager’s rebound
Mestalla can be a hostile stadium and Ancelotti is not expecting an easy match despite Valencia’s modest position.
“It’s a team that has changed coaches and can give additional motivation to the players,” he added. “For me, Baraja did a fantastic job, but that happens in football. We expect a demanding match. We have to concentrate on the game and nothing else.
“We want to start the year off right. It’s a very important game. The team is doing well, the rest days went well. Everyone came back motivated and in great shape.
No TTA update
Ancelotti was asked about the club’s plans this month, but played a typically straight bat.
He said: “Talking about it is a bit more complicated. We’ll see.
“The only thing I can say is that we have a lot of games in January and we are focusing on that. Talking about the market is not easy for me at the moment.
The trip to Valencia has been postponed until tomorrow evening after the original match was postponed due to devastating floods which hit the region in October.
Madrid are second in La Liga but will be two points ahead of Atletico if they win.
