No room for complacency: Mourinho surprises Valencia with a fiery line-up
Mourinho seeks all three points
Jose Mourinho has named his Real Madrid side to face Valencia this evening. The Mestalla hosts the twelfth round of the Spanish league, with Los Blancos chasing an eighth straight win and keeping up their pursuit of top spot.
Spanish website "Defensa Central" revealed the Portuguese's picks for the match. Vinicius Junior misses out as he completes his suspension, with Ivorian Yan Diomande stepping in to replace him, and there are changes in defence and midfield too.
Real Madrid's official line-up was as follows:
Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois.
Defence: Fede Valverde, Ibrahima Konate, Dean Huijsen, Marc Cucurella.
Midfield: Aurelien Tchouameni, Bernardo Silva, Arda Guler, Jude Bellingham, Yan Diomande.
Attack: Kylian Mbappe.
Konate and Huijsen return to partner each other at the heart of defence. Valverde takes on the right-back role and Cucurella holds down the left flank, while Tchouameni comes back into midfield alongside Bernardo Silva after being rested against AEK Athens.
Up front, Mourinho leans on Mbappe, who has scored in Real Madrid's last six matches. Diomande, in sparkling form over recent weeks, lines up beside him. Bellingham takes the playmaker role after that impressive showing in Greece and his superb back-heel goal.
Confidence is high in the Madrid camp. They have scored 21 goals in their last seven games and banked two eye-catching wins, 2-1 over Barcelona and 3-0 over Racing Santander, and they want to keep the run going before the international break.
Valencia sit second from bottom on 9 points. That is despite a 1-0 win over Elche last round, the first victory under Mexican coach Javier Aguirre, who succeeded Carlos Corberan on 23 September.
