Real Madrid vs Villarreal predictions and match preview for Saturday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for the head-to-head, team news, predicted lineups and fantasy football picks as Los Blancos aim to continue their strong start.
| Date | Saturday 25th September 2021 |
| Kick-Off | 21:00 (local time) |
| Stadium | Santiago Bernabeu |
| Competition | LaLiga |
Real Madrid vs Villarreal Preview
Real Madrid are back at the Bernabeu for the second time in four days and they’ll be hoping for a repeat performance after demolishing Mallorca in midweek. Villarreal though should provide a sterner test with the Europa League winners yet to taste defeat so far this season.
Carlo Ancelotti would have been very happy with most of what he saw on Wednesday. While there were again defensive flaws at times, Los Blancos were very good going forward with Marco Asensio shining in a deeper midfield role and scoring a hat-trick. Karim Benzema was again on top of his game in a match where the youngsters really caught the eye with Vini, Rodrygo and Eduardo Camavinga all shining.
The latter looked very composed in his first start for the club and suddenly it feels as though Madrid have genuine depth in midfield given the 6-1 win over Mallorca came with none of Luke Modric, Casemiro or Toni Kroos involved. Los Blancos have rattled in 21 goals already this season in LaLiga, 10 more than any other team at the time of writing, and that’s a real positive given they were significantly outscored by Barcelona last season.
There was joy at the Ceramica too in midweek as Villarreal finally didn’t draw a match. After six straight draws to start the season in all competitions, they were far too good for Elche, winning 4-1 despite the absence of talisman Gerard Moreno. When you see them play well, you do sometimes wonder just how they are so regularly held to draws by lowly LaLiga teams and that’s a habit they will need to get out of if they are going to seriously challenge the top four.
Among the scorers against Elche was Arnaut Danjuma. The Dutch winger has made a flying start to life with the Yellow Submarine with 3 goals already despite only starting 2 matches. He’s likely to be perhaps Villarreal’s biggest threat in this match with Real Madrid looking a little bit light in the full-back areas right now due to some injury problems.
Head to Head
- Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 3 Real Madrid Wins, 3 Draws.
- The last 6 meetings have all seen both teams score.
- Villarreal have lost on their last 3 trips to Madrid after a 1-0 win on this ground in 2018.
- That’s the only victory Villarreal have managed in 11 meetings with Real Madrid.
Team News
Dani Carvajal, Gareth Bale, Ferland Mendy, Toni Kroos and Marcelo are still out for Real Madrid.
Gerard Moreno and Yéremi Pino are rated doubtful for the visitors. Rulli may return in goal after Asenjo started in midweek.
Predicted Real Madrid Starting Lineup:
Courtois – Gutierrez, Alaba, Militao, Nacho – Modric, Casemiro, Valverde – Vini, Benzema, Asensio (4-3-3)
Predicted Villarreal Starting Lineup:
Rulli – Moreno, Torres, Albiol, Foyth – Parejo, Capoue, Trigueros – Danjuma, Dia, Pino (4-3-3)
Real Madrid vs Villarreal Predictions
Score Prediction: Real Madrid 2-1 Villarreal
This will be a much sterner test for what hasn’t been a fully convincing Real Madrid defence and you’d certainly fancy Villlarreal to get on the scoresheet in this match. However Carlo Ancelotti’s side are playing some really good football going forward and the Italian looks to have found some solutions that his predecessor failed to find. The hosts may just have the edge over 90 minutes here.
Fantasy Football Picks
LaLiga Predictions & Previews | LLE on the Road – Joy & Anger in Vallecas
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