La Liga forces Real into a slot that benefits Barça

In the illuminated stands of the Mestalla, Real Madrid players are preparing to face Valencia on Saturday 7 November at 21 h, after a trip to Athens where they met AEK on Wednesday 4 November at 18 h 45, only 74 hours apart.

Unfavourable schedule for Real

La Liga has scheduled this trip to Valencia on Saturday evening, while José Mourinho's side was supposed to play a few days earlier in the Champions League. Real thus finds itself traveling from Greece to Spain in less than three days, with a return planned on the night of Wednesday to Thursday.

Between the kickoff in Athens and the one in Valencia, exactly 74 hours and 15 minutes elapse, leaving little recovery time. The Madrilenians are not expected to return to the Spanish capital until the night of Wednesday to Thursday, thus limiting their training options.

According to AS, the decision sparked “anger, unease and astonishment” within Real’s dressing room, technical staff and management. This reaction is fueled by the comparison with Barça’s schedule.

Reactions and consequences

Barça, for its part, will host Aston Villa on Tuesday 3 November at 21 h, then travel to Atlético on Sunday 8 November at the same time, enjoying five full days between the two fixtures and no European travel. That amounts to roughly 46 hours of extra recovery compared to Real.

Atlético Madrid and Villarreal, playing at home on Tuesday, will also play on Sunday, while Betis will travel to Dortmund on Wednesday evening before returning to La Liga on Sunday afternoon at Elche, showing that Real is the only one of the five Spanish clubs to have to play again as early as Saturday.

The international break will start after this matchday, and no European constraint prevented scheduling the Valencia‑Real game on Sunday. Mourinho, already facing a packed calendar and players returning from injury, will probably only have a full training session on Friday to prepare for the trip, with Thursday devoted to the return and recovery.

This fixture will close a run of three away games in six days, after Racing Santander, AEK and then Valencia. Nothing proves an intention to favour Barça, but Real will enter the twelfth round with almost two days less rest than its great rival.