Second-placed Real Madrid travel Estadio de la Ceramica to take on Villarreal, sitting in third, with both teams eager to keep their place in the top order in Spain.
Marcelino will reflect on his incredible season with Villarreal so far in La Liga, where his team boasts a record of 13 wins, two draws and four defeats ahead of the visit of Real Madrid. They currently sit in third spot, some eight points off top spot presently occupied by Barcelona, as the Yellow Submarine awaits a stern test from title challengers Real Madrid.
Villarreal will have a game in hand over the top two, and Marcelino will want to capitalise on that, but before that, he must guide his team to a famous victory over Real Madrid. More importantly, the Villarreal manager will want to put the European disappointment behind him and focus completely on their plight in La Liga.
The Valencian outfit lost out to Ajax in the UEFA Champions League earlier this week, which left them 35th in the table and confirmed their elimination from the tournament altogether. Meanwhile, Real Madrid posted an emphatic 6-1 win over AS Monaco in the Champions League to further cement their place in the top eight.
The Merengues sit in third in the Champions League table at the moment heading into the final matchday of the group phase. While they are close to qualifying as part of the top eight, new boss Alvaro Arbeloa will want to focus on catching up to Barcelona in La Liga.
Real Madrid defeated Levante with a 2-0 scoreline the last time out, and they are only a point behind leaders Barcelona. They also boast an excellent record against Villarreal, losing only six of their previous 54 games against the hosts, while also recording a 3-1 reverse win in their clash earlier in the season at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Team News & Tactics
Villarreal
Marcelino will have to make do without at least five of his first-team stars, due to a combination of injuries and suspensions. Willy Kambwala is missing with a hamstring issue, while Pau Cabanes and Logan Costa have knee issues.
Meanwhile, Santi Comesana and Santiago Mourino are suspended for this fixture, thus leaving Marcelino to find viable solutions to replace those absent stars in the lineup. Villarreal are expected to make multiple changes to the side that started in midweek against Ajax when they take on Real Madrid.
Tajon Buchanan, Georges Mikautadze, Dani Parejo, Pau Navarro, and Alfonso Pedraza are in line to make the starting lineup for the weekend. Striker Gerardo Moreno is also pushing to start at the weekend, although it could be Ayoze Perez who plays up front alongside Mikautadze in the lineup.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Junior; Navarro, Veiga, Foyth, Pedraza; Buchanan, Parejo, Gueye, Moleiro; Perez, Mikautadze
Real Madrid
Real Madrid have their issues with injuries and suspensions, although there has been a double boost for Alvaro Arbeloa ahead of the game against Villarreal. AFCON finalist Brahim Diaz has resumed training, and so has Rodrygo.
The latter missed the last three games with an injury, although it remains to be seen whether the manager prefers them both from the start or the bench. Aurelien Tchouameni remains suspended for this one, while Trent Alexander-Arnold, Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy, and Antonio Rudiger are all absent with fitness problems.
Tchouameni’s absence could allow Arbeloa to continue using Arda Guler in the midfield setup, alongside Eduardo Camavinga and Jude Bellingham, while Federico Valverde will continue to be deployed in the right-back role. Dean Huijsen and Raul Asencio are expected to maintain their defensive partnership with Alvaro Carreras in the left-back role.
Arbeloa could hand Rodrygo a start, although midweek goalscorer Franco Mastantuono is also an option for the right wing. Key men, Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe, are pencilled in for starts in the final third against Villarreal.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Courtois; Valverde, Huijsen, Asencio, Carreras; Guler, Camavinga, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius
Key Stats
- Villarreal have lost just once in their last six home games.
- Villarreal are eight points behind leaders Barcelona, with a game in hand over them and Real Madrid.
- Real Madrid have scored at least two goals in their last seven matches against Villarreal in all competitions.
- Real Madrid have scored at least two goals in their last seven matches against Villarreal in all competitions.
Player to Watch
Kylian Mbappe
Having started the season on fire, Mbappe finds himself as one of the top goalscorers on the continent, with 32 goals to show for his cause. Once again, the Frenchman is the key man for Real Madrid, and he showed that earlier this week against his former side, AS Monaco.
He will be the key man for the capital giants at the weekend, and their beacon of hope to achieve success this term across all competitions. Mbappe is certainly the man in focus for Real Madrid as they travel to take on Villarreal this weekend.
Prediction
Villarreal 1-3 Real Madrid
Villarreal are a strong team at home, and certainly one of the sides pencilled to fight for a UEFA Champions League place at the end of the season. However, there are significant doubts about how they perform against the bigger sides. Having already faltered against Barcelona, they are set for a stern test against Real Madrid now.
Real Madrid have been gaining momentum of late, and they have certainly picked up form consistently under new boss Alvaro Arbeloa. The Merengues are expected to brush past Villarreal to keep pace with leaders Barcelona at the weekend. The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-1 win for Arbeloa and his charges.
