Real Madrid travel to Villarreal for a La Liga fixture on Saturday with both teams looking to maintain their recent good form.
Villarreal continue to impress this season as they maintain their push for a European finish. They have won their last six matches across all competitions and are now seventh on the table, just one point off the top six.
Quique Setien’s men marked their return from the international break with a 2-1 victory over Valencia. They followed that up by claiming a 5-1 win in at Cartegna in a Copa Del Rey fixture on Tuesday.
While Villarreal are generally having a solid campaign, they tend to struggle against some of the top sides. They have been beaten by Real Sociedad and Barcelona this season and have also kept just one clean sheet in their last six La Liga fixtures.
Sitting level on points with Barcelona at the top of the standings, the task for Real Madrid will be to open up a gap on their rivals, even if its temporary. They have won four of their last five matches across all competitions and claimed a 1-0 victory over Carcena in a midweek Copa Del Rey fixture
Real Madrid returned from the international break with a 2-0 victory at Real Valladolid in their previous La Liga fixture. Reigning Ballon D’Or holder Karim Benzema looked refreshed and lively throughout the encounter, netting both goals in a comfortable win.
The result at Valladolid highlights a solid record away from home for Real Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti’s men have won seven of their last eight La Liga matches on the road, beating the likes of Espanyol and Atletico Madrid in that run.
How the bookies view it
Real Madrid have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 11/10 by Betfred to claim the win. Villarreal are considered outsiders at home at 23/10 by Paddy Power while a draw is set at odds of 29/10 by Unibet.
Head to head
Real Madrid have a 24-4 advantage with 16 draws from 44 previous matches with Villarreal. The champions are also unbeaten in the last nine meetings, although there have been six draws in that run, including 0-0 scorelines in both fixtures last season.
Players to watch
Arnaut Danjuma has been one of the standout players for Villarreal this season and will be the one to watch on Saturday. The attacker has found the net twice in the three matches since the restart and is priced at 39/20 by Unibet to get on the score sheet.
As always Real Madrid will look to Karim Benzema to provide the attacking quality on Saturday. The striker’s brace at Valladolid took his tally to seven goals for the season and he could be backed at 21/20 by bet365 to get on the score sheet.
Anything else catch the eye?
Although the last two matches have ended in 0-0 draws, there is undoubted quality on both sides and there are likely to be goals here. There have been over 2.5 goals in two of Real Madrid’s last three matches and a repeat is priced at 8/13 by bet365 while over 3.5 goals is valued at 8/5 with BoyleSports.
Villarreal and Real Madrid have had some late showings in recent weeks and both teams could be backed to score in the second half at 7/4 with Paddy Power.
This La Liga match between Villarreal and Real Madrid will be played on Jan 7, 2023 and kick off at 15:15. Check below for our tipsters best Villarreal vs Real Madrid prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
