Real Madrid v Valencia preview: No psychological scars from El Clasico defeat, says Zinedine Zidane
Friday 28 April 2017 17:55, UK
Zinedine Zidane is adamant his Real Madrid side bear no psychological scars from their dramatic El Clasico defeat to Barcelona last weekend.
Zidane's men bounced back with an emphatic 6-2 midweek win at Deportivo La Coruna and could go back to the top of La Liga - at least temporarily - if they beat Valencia on Saturday.
"We still have a month and a half to get through and I'm convinced we can do it," Zidane said. "Every season there are times when you suffer but we can be happy with what we're doing.
"We are doing well physically and mentally. We know what we've done up until now has been phenomenal, and we are in our best moment of the season emotionally."
The hosts will be confident of restoring their advantage over their title rivals, who play on Saturday evening, as Valencia go into the game without a win in their last three matches.
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Saturday's visitors continued their recent downturn in form in midweek, when they suffered a 3-2 home defeat to Real Sociedad.
Zidane revealed Fabio Coentrao is a doubt for the game after suffering a slight knock, but there is slightly better news on defender Pepe, whom he hopes could be back before the end of the campaign.
"It is always difficult to choose a line-up as I have an extraordinary squad and they are all focused," Zidane added. "Everyone has an opinion who plays, but I'm the one who decides and it is difficult for a coach."
Valencia will be without Enzo Perez and Mario Suarez but Rodrigo and Gaya have shrugged off recent concerns and are set to travel to Madrid.
Boss Voro said: "We may not need points in terms of the table, but we do need to compete and perform well. Playing at the Bernabeu is a motivation for any player.
"We need to take advantage of the spaces we can find and be solid at the back. We don't want to be too defensive, but we need to be aware how good Madrid are on the counter-attack."
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