Real Madrid will travel to Estadio de la Ceramica this Saturday to face Villarreal in the 16th round of the 2022/23 La Liga season.
Venue: Estadio de la Ceramica
Key Statistics
Villareal have won their last five competitive games.
The hosts have failed to score in just one of their last 15 home games.
They have lost just one of their league home games this season.
Real Madrid have lost just one of their La Lig away games this season (W7).
They have kept two clean sheets in their last two games.
Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has never lost against Villarreal (W2, D4).
Head to head
Real Madrid are unbeaten in their last nine head-to-head meetings with Villarreal (W3, D6).
Latest performances in all competitions
Villarreal: W-W-W-W-W
Real Madrid: W-W-W-L-W
Villarreal
Villarreal will look to make it six wins in six games when they welcome Real Madrid to Estadio de la Ceramica this Friday.
The Yellow Submarines left it late to beat Valencia 2-1 on their return to La Liga action following the World Cup, leaving manager Quique Setién a happy man. The Spanish coach called the result “a special day for the club” after they marked their return to the renovated Estadio de la Cerámica by beating their local rivals. The result was an ideal way to kick off the club’s centenary year and continue their push for a European qualification place.
Since losing former manager Unai Emery to Aston Villa, the hosts have continued their upward trajectory under Setien’s leadership.
They come into this tie with just one loss from their six home league games this term (W4, D1), and so will hope the celebrations can continue when they host reigning league champions Real Madrid.
Although they haven’t beaten Los Blancos at home since December 2015, the last five head-to-heads here were drawn. So they are no strangers to making life difficult for the visitors and will be confident of restricting them again, given that they have conceded just eleven goals this season.
Possible Villarreal starting line-up
Pepe Jose Reina, Kiko Femenia, Raul Albiol, Pau Francisco Torres, Alberto Moreno, Etienne Capoue, Daniel Parejo, Alejandro Baena, Samuel Chukwueze, Gerard Moreno, Yéremi Pino.
Injured: None
Doubtful: Giovani Lo Celso
Suspended: None
Real Madrid
Real Madrid will look to go top of the league table when they face Villarreal on Friday.
The visitors, like their hosts, also needed a late show to put off Real Valladolid, eventually winning 2-0 courtesy of a brace by Karim Benzema. Although the game was sadly marred by controversial officiating and racist chanting aimed at Vinícius Júnior in particular, Madrid will still feel glad they got all three points.
The result kept them level in points with Barcelona but with a poorer goal difference. Nevertheless, they will hope to win here and go three points clear at the top, at least until Barca play later.
With manager Carlo Ancelotti having never lost against Villarreal (W2, D4), Madrid will feel confident of improving on that record to ensure they remain at the top.
It’s been all or nothing for the visitors on the road this term, with seven wins and a loss in eight away games. However, after beating Cacereño 1-0 in a midweek Copa del Rey match, they’re now seeking a hat-trick of competitive away wins ‘to nil’.
Los Blancos have kept three clean sheets across their last four La Liga road games (W3, L1) and will be looking to get one here.
Possible Real Madrid starting line-up
Thibaut Courtois, Lucas Vázquez, Antonio Rüdiger, David Alaba, Ferland Mendy, Federico Valverde, Toni Kroos, Daniel Ceballos, Marco Asensio, Karim Benzema, Vinícius Júnior.
Injured: None
Doubtful: Dani Carvajal, Mariano Diaz
Suspended: None
Odds
| Villarreal to win | Draw | Real Madrid to win | |
| Odds | 3.25 | 3.80 | 2.05 |
| Probability (%) | 29 | 25 | 46 |
Prediction
Villarreal 1-3 Real Madrid
