The 21st-round La Liga match between Villarreal and Real Madrid will take place on 24 January at Estadio de la Cerámica. Villarreal vs Real Madrid: prediction, betting odds and statistics.
Villarreal
Last weekend Villarreal lost 0:2 away to Betis. The home side suffered their second defeat in the last four La Liga rounds, although prior to that the team had gone seven league matches without defeat, including an impressive run of six wins. The hosts occupy third place in the table, but Atletico Madrid are now level on points and behind only on tiebreakers. They remain eight points short of leaders Barcelona. Note that since the start of the current La Liga season Villarreal have scored 37 goals in total—only Real Madrid (43) and Barcelona (54) have scored more.
- The team has not lost in 15 of their last 16 La Liga home games (12 wins, 3 draws).
- The club's unbeaten run in this competition has reached 10 matches (8 wins, 2 losses).
- This season Villarreal have conceded 19 goals in total; only Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have a better record in this respect (17 each).
Potential Villarreal Lineup (4-4-2)*
Luis Junior – Pau Navarro, Alfonso Pedraza, Juan Foyth, Renato Veiga – Tajon Buchanan, Dani Parejo, Santi Comesaña, Alberto Moleiro – Gerard Moreno, Georges Mikautadze.
Defender Santiago Mourinho and midfielder Santi Comesaña are suspended. Midfielders Pape Gueye and Ilyas Ahomash return after participating in the Africa Cup of Nations. Due to injuries the team will miss defenders Logan Costa and Willy Kambwala, as well as forward Pau Cabanes.
Real Madrid
One week ago Real Madrid secured their first win under new coach Alvaro Arbeloa, beating Levante 2:0 at home. Overall the team have won four La Liga matches in a row. By comparison, before this run the club had won only one of five league games. After the last round Real Madrid have closed the gap on Barcelona, the deficit to the leader shrinking to one point. It is worth adding that the team's unbeaten run in La Liga stretches to six matches, with five of those six games being wins.
- Real Madrid have scored in seven of their last eight La Liga matches.
- The club's unbeaten away run in the Spanish championship lasts six matches (3 wins, 3 draws).
- At least two goals have been scored in eight of Real Madrid's matches in this competition.
Potential Real Madrid Lineup (4-3-3)*
Thibaut Courtois – Raul Asensio, Dein Heisen, Federico Valverde, Alvaro Carreras – Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Jude Bellingham – Vinicius Junior, Gonzalo Garcia, Kylian Mbappe.
First-choice midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni is serving a suspension, while midfielder Brahim Diaz has returned from the Africa Cup of Nations. Due to injuries defenders Trent Alexander-Arnold, Antonio Rudiger, Ferland Mendy and Eder Militao will miss the game. The participation of forward Rodrygo is in doubt.
Villarreal vs Real Madrid: Match Prediction
Villarreal are gradually slowing down and falling behind the leaders. Recently the club lost for the second time in the last four La Liga rounds, notably against Barcelona and Betis, who are in the top six. Throughout the season the team have confidently dealt with mid-table and bottom teams in La Liga, but regular problems arise against more high-status opponents. Now Villarreal will face one of their most uncomfortable opponents. In the five most recent head-to-head league meetings the club have only one draw and four defeats.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, have closed in on Barcelona and can reclaim first place in the table at any moment. But it is important to avoid slip-ups. So far the team have handled this task successfully over four La Liga rounds. It should be noted that only one of the last 13 league matches ended in defeat for the club, and overall since the start of the current campaign Real Madrid have lost only two of 20 games.
Prediction: Real Madrid Draw No Bet
* For each team the starting lineup indicated is from their previous match in this competition.
