Carlo Ancelotti’s rejuvenated Real Madrid are all set to host Villarreal in La Liga after a thrilling win over Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semi-final.
Villarreal are all set to hit the road to square up against second-placed Real Madrid in the league. The Yellow Submarine are currently sixth in the league and have a realistic chance of finishing in the top four. And, a win over Los Blancos can surely help their cause.
Real Madrid have done wonders since shifting to the 4-2-3-1 formation for the last few fixtures. They have racked up ten goals in their last two matches. Four of those goals came against Barcelona in their last outing in the Copa del Rey semi-final second.
Ancelotti’s men were clinical in front of the goal and have managed to book their ticket to the finale with a 4-0 win. As far as the league goes, they are currently second with 59 points out of their 27 matches. They are currently 12 points behind league leader Barcelona.
The league title race seems to be done and duster. But, Los Blancos do have an outside chance and as a result, will look to gain as many points as possible in the last 11 matches starting with the match against the Yellow Submarine.
Real Madrid have only won two out of their last five league game and would surely want to improve those numbers when they host Villarreal. As far as the visitors are concerned, they are just four points behind fourth-placed Real Sociedad.
A win against Los Blancos can help them push for a top-four finish. However, they are well aware of the fact that it won’t be easy to get past a team that have scored ten goals without a reply in their last two outings.
The Yellow Submarine have won four out of their last five league outings. And, they are in red-hot form heading into this fixture. Their last outing was a 2-0 win over Real Sociedad, it was a very important win for Villarreal.
The visitors will be confident of getting a positive result against the team in white having already won 2-1 in the reverse fixture. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at this fixture and tries to predict the tactics that they could deploy.
Team News & Tactics
real Madrid
Real Madrid will be without the services of Ferland Mendy for this home fixture. Apart from him, Carlo Ancelotti should have the entire squad at his disposal for this fixture.
However, the Real Madrid boss could make quite a few changes to the team that took the field against Barcelona a few days back given the fact that his team have an important Champions League fixture coming up.
🫂 Happy Friday, #Madridistas! 🫂 pic.twitter.com/x5PjmZv1LS
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) April 7, 2023
Real Madrid are once again expected to start with the 4-2-3-1 formation. Thibaut Courtois will be in goal. Eduardo Camavinga and Lucas Vazquez are expected to start as the full-backs. Meanwhile, Eder Militao and Nacho could start in the heart of the defense.
Dani Ceballos and Aurelien Tchouaméni could start as the double pivots. Meanwhile, Rodrygo Goes could feature as the attacking midfielder. Vinicius Junior is expected to start alongside Marco Asensio out wide. And, Karim Benzema who has scored hat-tricks in their last two fixtures is expected to start as the number nine.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Vazquez, Militao, Nacho, Camavinga; Tchouameni, Ceballos; Asensio, Rodrygo, Vinicius; Benzema
villarreal
As far as the visitors are concerned, they have a few injuries to worry about. Quique Setien will be without Etienne Capoue, Gerard Moreno and Francis Coquelin who are out injured. Nicolas Jackson is also unavailable for this match because of suspension. Meanwhile, Raul Albiol is a doubt for this fixture. But, as per the reports, he might be fit in time to start.
🗣️ Quique Setién:
👉 "Es un equipo diferente a los demás. Con el Madrid, siempre es indescifrable"
👉 "El acierto es lo más importante y ser capaces de defender bien"
👉 "Una cosa es el plan de partido y otra lo que pueda pasar en el campo"#RealMadridVillarreal
— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) April 6, 2023
Setien will start with the 4-3-3 formation where Pepe Reina will take charge in front of the goal. Juan Foyth and Alfonso Pedraza are expected to be the full-backs. Pau Torres will pair up with Raul Albiol in the centre of defence.
Ramon Terrats, Alex Baena, and Dani Parejo will start in the centre of the park. The trio will look to create a protective shield in front of their back line and ensure that Madrid do not dominate the ball. Meanwhile, Samuel Chukwueze and Yeremy Pino will start out wide as the wingers, and Jose Luis Morales will lead the attack.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Reina; Foyth, Albiol, P Torres, Pedraza; Terrats, Parejo, Baena; Chukwueze, Morales, Pino
Key Stats
- Los Blancos are the highest-scoring team in the league, having found the back of the net on 57 occasions.
- Real Madrid have won 23 out of the last 44 matches against Villarreal, who have only won five times.
- The Yellow Submarine have only won one out of their last 22 away games against Los Blancos in the league.
- Villarreal have an opportunity to do a rare double over Real Madrid having won the reverse fixture 2-1.
- Real Madrid have only lost one out of their 42 home games in the league.
Player to Watch
Karim Benzema
Two hat-tricks in a row and the latest one against league leaders Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg. The 35-year-old forward is on fire and is expected to be the main man for Los Blancos in this fixture against Quique Setien’s men.
The Real Madrid skipper has 17 goal involvements in his 17 league outings so far. He has 14 goals and is second behind Robert Lewandowski on La Liga’s scoring chart. The Frenchman will look to close that gap further when he takes the field against the Yellow Submarine.
Prediction
Real Madrid 3-0 Villarreal
Since changing their system from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1, Real Madrid have been a different team. They have had a dominant display in their last two matches, scoring ten goals. While recent league results have not been that great, they will still enter this home game as favourites.
Meanwhile, Villarreal, who have won four of their last five league games, will hope to cause an upset and keep themselves alive in the top-four race. However, they might find life difficult against a high-flying Real Madrid team. The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-0 win for the home team.
