When Real Madrid travels to Estadio de la Ceramica on Saturday afternoon to face Villarreal, they will be looking to make it back-to-back La Liga victories.
Los Blancos presently lead the table by 3 points over Sevilla, with Villarreal in sixth place, three points behind fourth-placed Barcelona, ahead of the next round of matches.
Match Preview
Last weekend, Villarreal made it back-to-back La Liga victories with a 2-0 victory over Real Betis at Estadio Benito Villamarin. Pau Torres and Etienne Capoue scored the goals in the victory.
Unai Emery’s team also defeated Mallorca 3-0 before the break, allowing them to climb to sixth place in the rankings with 35 points from their first 23 games; they are only three points behind fourth-placed Barcelona and five behind third-placed Real Betis.
The Yellow Submarine were eliminated from the Copa del Rey in early January, but they remain in the Champions League and will host Juventus for the opening leg of their last-16 Champions League tie on February 22, followed by the return match in Turin on March 16.
Villarreal have performed admirably in front of their own fans this season, collecting 24 points from 12 games and winning seven of them, giving them the fourth-best record in the division.
They haven’t beaten Real Madrid in the league since January 2018, and they’ll be up against a Los Blancos side that has the best away record in Spain’s top flight for the 2021-22 season.
Last Saturday, Real Madrid were far from their best against Granada, but they still managed to win, with Marco Asensio’s 74th-minute goal sealing a crucial three points at the Bernabeu.
Los Blancos have a big Champions League encounter coming up next week, when they travel to Paris Saint-Germain for the opening leg of their last-16 tie, but they can’t afford to lose focus in La Liga, where second-placed Sevilla is only six points behind them after the same number of games.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team has had a strong start to the season, winning 16 games, drawing five, and losing two, while scoring 48 goals and conceding 20.
As previously stated, Real Madrid has been the best away team in Spain’s top division this season, taking up 25 points from 11 games with an eight-win, one-draw, and two-loss record.
Los Blancos, who are looking to capture their first La Liga title since 2019-20, were held to a goalless draw by Villarreal at the Bernabeu earlier this season, while the two teams drew 1-1 at Estadio de la Ceramica last season.
Villarreal La Liga form:
- W
- W
- D
- L
- W
- W
Villarreal form (all competitions):
- W
- L
- D
- L
- W
- W
Real Madrid La Liga form:
- D
- W
- L
- W
- D
- W
Real Madrid form (all competitions):
- W
- W
- W
- D
- L
- W
Team News
Due to injury, Villarreal will be without Francis Coquelin and Ruben Pena this weekend, while Gerard Moreno is a significant doubt with a calf problem.
In the first half of the triumph over Real Betis, Moreno had to be substituted, and Arnaut Danjuma could start as centre-forward this weekend, with Paco Alcacer falling to the bench.
Samuel Chukwueze could return to an attacking role, but head coach Unai Emery has plenty of choices, with Yeremi Pino, Giovani Lo Celso, and Manu Trigueros all vying for a place in the starting lineup.
Casemiro and Lucas Vazquez have both returned to training following illness and should be ready, while Mariano Diaz could return from a muscular problem.
Los Blancos will be missing both Karim Benzema and Ferland Mendy due to injury, with both players hoping to be fit for next week’s match against PSG.
Isco could start at false nine again this Saturday, but there will be alterations from last weekend’s win against Granada, with Vinicius Junior returning from suspension.
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Ancelotti might also make a defensive move, with Nacho replacing Marcelo and David Alaba switching from centre-back to left-back.
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Foyth, Albiol, Torres, Pedraza; Parejo, Trigueros, Capoue; Chukwueze, Danjuma, A Moreno
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Nacho, Alaba; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Asensio, Isco, Vinicius
Possible Prediction: 1-1
We would take Real Madrid to win 2-1 if Benzema was certain to play, but the Frenchman is unlikely to do so, giving Villarreal a major advantage. This season, the Yellow Submarine are aiming for a top-four finish, and we anticipate that a tough encounter this weekend will result in a draw.
