It has been long since we have seen Villarreal this high up the La Liga table but it is certainly a welcome return. The Yellow Submarine will now have to deal with none other, than Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu no less. But the host suffered a recent shock that might have been expected, given their most recent results.
Real Madrid Team News
Real Madrid’s shock loss to Lille during the midweek Champions League matches, ended the team’s 36-game unbeaten run. One could argue that this result while unexpected, might have been expected somewhere down the line, as Real’s last 2 games before that were a draw with Atletico and a narrow 3-2 home win over Alaves. Carlo Ancelotti claimed that this was a wake-up call for his team and rightly so. Expectations now will be for Los Blancos to deliver a solid response, especially since they are protecting an active streak of 40 unbeaten league fixtures, will have Kylian Mbappé at their disposal and will try to avoid three consecutive winless matches, something that last befell them on March 2023.
Villarreal Team News
A fine start to the league with 17 points from 8 matches means that only Barcelona and Real Madrid are ahead of Villarreal before matchday 9. In terms of attacking prowess, The Yellow Submarine have produced exactly as much as their esteemed opponent – 17. The difference lies in the defence, where Villarreal has the joint worst record out of the top 10 La Liga teams with Celta Vigo with 15 goals conceded. Yet, the team can be cautiously optimistic about the upcoming game – they are undefeated as guests in La Liga so far this season and have done rather well in recent head-to-head encounters with Real Madrid.
Head-to-Head-Games
Villarreal’s good results in their fixtures with Real Madrid translate into just 2 losses in their last 7 head-to-head matches with Real. All of the last 5 matches between these two have been wildly entertaining and have produced over 2.5 goals each with goals coming from both teams. Villarreal’s last 3 visits to Bernabeu are also perfectly split – 1 loss, 1 draw and 1 victory.
| Rank | Teams | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points | Current form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Real Madrid | 38 | 26 | 6 | 6 | 40 | 84 | WLWWW |
| Rank | Teams | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points | Current form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Villarreal CF | 38 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 70 | WWWWW |
Real Madrid – Villarreal Betting Prediction
Looking at the head-to-head statistics of this rivalry and recent results of both, my pick here will be for both teams to score. Villarreal has grown up to be a team that concedes a lot but manages to outweigh this by scoring even more. Their away form is also good, having 3 wins and 1 draw in their 4 La Liga games as guests, making them undefeated on the road. Real Madrid will look to make a statement after their disappointing midweek loss to Lille, but in recent years, Villarreal has been a tough opponent for them, as evidenced by the fact that Los Blancos have won just 2 of the last 7 head-to-head encounters. What is normal when these two play is generally the number of goals scored and the fact that they come from both sides.
Betting Tip: Over 2.5 Goals & Both Teams To Score: Yes
Bookmaker: Sportsbet.io
Odds: 1.82
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