Overview
Villarreal is going through an impressive La Liga season. After 19 rounds, the "Golden Submarine" has won 13 matches, drawn 2 matches and lost only 4 matches. They have 41 points and are third in the standings. Marcelino's team is currently 7 points behind Real Madrid - the second-placed team - and 8 points behind Barcelona.
It is noteworthy that Villarreal still has one match to play against the two leading teams. Therefore, if they win the reception of Real Madrid, they will not only significantly narrow the gap but also send a strong message in the championship race.
Home form is Villarreal's main strength this season. Yellow Submarine has won 25 points after 10 matches in La Liga at the Estadio de la Ceramica stadium. However, Real Madrid also shows admirable bravery every time they leave Bernabeu, earning 21 points after 10 away games.
However, Villarreal has just experienced great disappointment in the European arena. The 1-2 defeat to Ajax in the middle of the week officially caused them to be eliminated from the Champions League. The La Liga representative only won a meager 1 point after 7 matches and is currently ranked 35th, closing a forgettable European campaign.
In the opposite direction, Real Madrid entered this match with excitement. Coach Alvaro Arbeloa's team just crushed Monaco 6-1 in the Champions League, thereby rising to third place in the rankings and taking a big advantage in the race to win a ticket to the knockout round.
In La Liga, Los Blancos also maintained stable form with a 2-0 victory over Levante in the most recent round, thereby narrowing the gap with Barcelona to only one point. Real Madrid's goal is very clear to win all 3 points against Villarreal to temporarily rise to the top. After that, they will play away at Benfica's stadium in the last match of the Champions League group stage on January 28.
In terms of head-to-head record, Real Madrid has a clear advantage. They have only lost 6 times in 54 encounters with Villarreal in all competitions, and also won 3-1 in the first leg this season. The Royal Spanish team has also never lost at Villarreal's home ground since January 2023 and has only lost twice here since May 2009.
The upcoming confrontation is therefore promising to be crucial for both teams. Villarreal wants to affirm their championship ambitions, while Real Madrid needs victory to continue the two-horse race with Barcelona.
Personnel situation
Villarreal will not have the services of 5 players in this match, including Willy Kambwala (strap injury), Logan Costa (knee injury), Pau Cabanes (knee injury), along with the duo Santi Comesana and Santiago Mourino due to suspension.
Coach Marcelino is expected to make many changes compared to the squad that played against Ajax in the Champions League. Tajon Buchanan, Georges Mikautadze, Dani Parejo, Pau Navarro and Alfonso Pedraza are all likely to be given starting spots to strengthen the home team.
In the opposite direction, Real Madrid welcomed good news when both Rodrygo and Brahim Diaz have returned to training. Rodrygo recovered from injury, causing him to be sidelined for the last 3 matches, while Diaz has just completed his duty with the Moroccan national team in the African Cup.
However, the away team also suffered significant losses in force. Aurelien Tchouameni was absent due to suspension, while Trent Alexander-Arnold (knee injury), Eder Militao (strap), Ferland Mendy (strap) and Antonio Rudiger (knee) were all insufficient to play.
Expected lineup:
Junior, Navarro, Veiga, Foyth, Pedraza, Buchanan, Parejo, Gueye, Moleiro, Perez, Mikautadze.
Real Madrid: Courtois, Valverde, Huijsen, Asencio, Carreras, Guler, Camavinga, Bellingham, Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius.
The match between Villarreal and Real Madrid takes place at 3:00 AM on January 25 (Vietnam time).
