Real Madrid head to Mestalla Stadium on Saturday night knowing that a victory over Valencia would provisionally pull them level with La Liga leaders Barcelona. Kickoff in Valencia is scheduled for 20:00 GMT, with Barcelona set to host second placed Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
Mourinho's side sit third in the table, three points behind the Catalan club, but arrive on the east coast in fine form. Madrid have won their last seven matches in all competitions, including four in the league and an El Clasico triumph over Barcelona, since a 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid in September.
The visitors received another lift on Wednesday, when Jude Bellingham scored a superb back-heeled goal in a 3-2 Champions League comeback win over AEK Athens. The England midfielder, who was named player of the match, became the youngest player to reach 60 appearances in Europe's top club competition at 23 years and 128 days, breaking a record previously held by former Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Bellingham struck in the 32nd minute, meeting Marc Cucurella's cross with a first-time flick past goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli.
Mourinho was full of admiration for his midfielder after the match. "He is a unique player. Today, there is no midfielder in world football like Jude, who is complete on all levels," the Madrid coach said, adding that even on quieter nights Bellingham brings "work, leadership, ambition, quality, and goal-scoring ability." Bellingham played down his goal, saying: "It was just instinct really. I found myself in a good position and managed to do the only thing that came naturally in that position. It was a nice one."
Valencia approach the weekend in urgent need of points. Javier Aguirre's team are second bottom of the standings with just nine points from 11 games, although they did claim a much needed victory over Elche last weekend thanks to a second half goal from substitute Nigerian striker Sadiq. "It's a very important win for us, because we'd come off three matches without a victory, and now we have Real Madrid CF coming up. We couldn't afford to get cut adrift," Aguirre said, noting that wins for Getafe and Espanyol made the result even more significant.
Both coaches struck a respectful tone ahead of the meeting. Mourinho called the fixture "one of the toughest matches in the entire Spanish league" and praised Aguirre's experience and clear philosophy, while the Valencia coach said his players need no extra motivation against "one of the best sides in the world" and hopes his team produce a good game.
Valencia will be without the injured Sergi Canos, Diego Lopez and David Otorbi, while Jose Manuel Copete is a doubt with a knee problem. Loanee Harvey Elliott returns from suspension and Sadiq is expected to start after recovering from a hamstring injury. Madrid remain without Rodrygo, Raul Asencio and Ferland Mendy through injury, and Vinicius Junior serves the final game of a domestic suspension.
History heavily favours the visitors. Madrid have won 114 of the 216 previous meetings, with Valencia winning 59 and 43 ending in draws. When the sides last met in February, Madrid won 2-0 at Mestalla through second half goals from Alvaro Carreras and Kylian Mbappe, and the Opta supercomputer gives Madrid a 70.4 percent chance of winning again, with a draw rated at 16.9 percent and a Valencia victory at 12.7 percent.
