Zidane under no illusions ahead of Valencia v Real Madrid

Zinedine Zidane says he is aware of how important Real Madrid’s clash with Valencia at Mestalla on Wednesday night is.

The game was rearranged because of Los Blancos’ participation in the Club World Cup and it would give the capital club the chance to go four points clear of Barcelona, still having played one game less.

“We know the importance of the Valencia game in terms of the league,” explained the Frenchman. 

“We’re up against a team that is playing much better lately and getting good results. Winning would mean having three more points, but we're going to have to work hard for it.

"We’ll come up against a good team at a difficult ground. Valencia weren’t getting the result before but they are now. My message is always the same. We know the league is difficult. 

“It's February and we're doing ok now, but that doesn’t mean anything. Only ourselves and Valencia are playing and it’s an opportunity for us to pick up more points, we know the importance of this result on the rest of the league.”