Villarreal v Real Madrid– Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Villarreal welcome Real Madrid to the Estadio de la Cerámica on Saturday evening. The Yellow Submarine are chasing a top-four finish but currently sit in sixth place under Unai Emery. Los Blancos hold a six-point lead over Sevilla in second place at the top of the table. This match usually sees goals and Carlo Ancelotti’s side are top scorers in La Liga.

Villarreal Form

Yellow Submarine is a little up and down this season. After their 1-0 loss at Sevilla in December, the side went on a great run with six consecutive wins in all competitions. That includes 5-2 and 5-0 home wins in La Liga against Alaves and Levante.

A three-match winless streak followed as they lost 2-1 at Sporting Gijon in the Copa Del Rey before a 2-2 home draw with Atletico Madrid (having led 2-1) at home and a 1-0 defeat at Elche. A 3-0 home win against Mallorca got the team back on track. Their last match was a brilliant result to win 2-0 at third-placed Real Betis. Pau Torres nodded in a corner before an Etienne Capoue thunderbolt.

Villarreal Team News

Unai Emery is without two long-term injury victims Francis Coquelin in the central midfield. Paco Alcacer is now back after his problems and started the last match. The big injury concern is over top striker Gerard Moreno who limped off injured against Real Betis in the first half. He may not be risked ahead of the Champions League clash against Juventus in 12 days.

Arnaut Danjuma will hope to be fit to replace Morena with Gio Lo Celso (on loan from Tottenham) and Manu Trigueros also options to play.

Villarreal Motivation

Villarreal needs a win ideally but a draw is a good result even if they lose a little ground in the top four race. Emery’s side will sit in a compact 4-4-2 defensive shape and make life difficult for Real Madrid.

They may even play for a draw from the start, even at home.

Real Madrid Form

Ancelotti has Real Madrid in great form. They have lost just twice in their past 24 matches in all competitions. After a shock 1-0 defeat at Getafe, Los Blancos bounced back to win five matches in a row including against Barcelona (3-2) and Athletic Bilbao (2-0) in the Spanish Super Cup.

A 2-1 win at Elche in the Copa del Rey preceded a 2-2 home draw with the same opposition in La Liga (having trailed 2-0 with 81 minutes on the clock). An 89th-minute goal then condemned Real Madrid to a 1-0 loss in the cup at Athletic Bilbao. Their most recent match required a Benzema-less team to score after 74 minutes to take a 1-0 win at home to Granada.

Real Madrid Team News

Carlo Ancelotti was without Karim Benzema against Granada and used Isco as a false nine. The coach could start Luka Jovic to give the side more of a focal point as a genuine number nine. Ferland Mendy has also been out so Marcelo could get another outing at left-back.

Casemiro and Lucas Vazquez both had stomach issues for the last match but are back to play. Eden Hazard was injured in training this week and is a doubt, not that he would have started anyway.

Real Madrid Motivation

Real will play to win this match and to maintain or increase their lead in La Liga. However, they play PSG just three days after this clash, so many players could be distracted.

Key Stats

Villarreal have lost 2 of their last 10 home La Liga matches (unbeaten in 5, W4)

Villarreal have scored 2+ goals in their last 5 home La Liga matches

There have been 19 goals on the last 5 occasions that Villarreal hosted Madrid in La Liga

Real Madrid have lost just 2 of their past 25 away La Liga matches

Madrid have conceded in 7 of their last 8 away matches (La Liga)

Verdict

This looks set to be a tight match between two well-coached teams. A huge factor could be that Madrid has an eye on the PSG match and try to conserve energy. A draw looks like a sound bet but Madrid should have enough to avoid defeat – it’s difficult to see Emery’s team winning the match.

Best Bet: Both teams to score at 1.57
Alternative Bet: Draw at 3.35
Multiplier Leg: Real Madrid win/draw double chance + over 1.5 goals at 2.00

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis