Mestalla holds the key to the league title campaign

Champions League goal-fest

Tuesday's Champions League action was truly excellent as we enjoyed 14 goals in both games. Six at the BayArena where Atlético overcame Leverkusen and to be honest Simeone's men have more than just one foot in the next round of the competition. The German side's two goals may just help their belief that they can still salvage something from the tie but I can't see how the Bundesliga side will overcome Atlético at the Calderon. Even more goals were notched at the City of Manchester Stadium as Manchester City came back to defeat Mónaco 5-3. It was great to see Falcao back to his best and refreshing also to City refuse to roll-over after being behind on the night.

Sevilla's turn 

Today's Champions League match schedule throws up Sevilla vs. Leicester and FC Porto vs. Juventus. Both ties have many interesting angles and it will intriguing to see Casillas come face to face with former Madrid team-mate Gonzalo Higuaín now at Juve.  As a tasty appetiser, this evening's feast of football kicks off with an always intriguing Valencia-Madrid LaLiga Santander clash. This is the rescheduled league game from December that was postponed as a result of Zidane's side being involved in the FIFA Club World Cup. The early kick-off (18:45 CET) is due to the game not coinciding with the European action which gets underway at the traditional time slot of 20:45 CET.

Mestalla

Madrid currently lead LaLiga by one point but have two games in hand over their rivals (tonight's game and the, as yet unscheduled away match at Celta Vigo) but it would be totally deceptive to claim that they hold a six point advantage. This Valencia side have evolved from the December version and though it may not be the Valencia of old, under Voro the team have regained a sense of belief. New winter recruits Zaza and Orellana have adapted well and have added a spark to the squad. Real Madrid come into the game, finally free of injury concerns that have haunted Zidane over recent times. Tonight's game on paper is intriguing with a full house at Mestalla well aware that this game will go some way in deciding the fate of the 2016/17 league title.