Preview: Real Madrid vs. Villarreal

Real Madrid host Villarreal on Sunday evening looking to consolidate their four-point gap at the top of the La Liga table.

Los Blancos benefited from Barcelona's slip-up against Malaga last weekend, with the result effectively wiping out Real's 4-0 hammering by rivals Atletico Madrid.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti will have Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale available for selection, despite the duo missing training for precautionary reasons earlier this week, while Luka Modric could be involved after his recovery from a hamstring injury.

However, the quartet of Fabio Coentrao, Sami Khedira, Sergio Ramos and James Rodriguez will all miss out at the weekend.

Villarreal have impressed for much of the campaign, but two league defeats in four games have kept the Yellow Submarine below Sevilla in the standings.

It has been a missed opportunity for the club to strengthen their challenge for a Champions League spot, but after three successive wins in all competitions, including two in the Europa League, coach Marcelino Garcia Toral will be optimistic that the club remain on track.

Mario Gaspar, Bruno Soriano, Adrian Marin and Bojan Jokic are all expected to miss the game at the Bernabeu.

Real Madrid:

Form in La Liga: WWWLWW Form in all competitions: WWLWWW

Possible starting lineup: Casillas; Carvajal, Pepe, Varane, Marcelo; Silva, Kroos, Isco; Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo

Villarreal:

Form in La Liga: WWLWLW Form in all competitions: WLLWWW

Possible starting lineup: Sergio Asenjo, Rukavina, Chechu Dorado, Jaume Costa, Bailly, J. dos Santos, Sergio Marcos, Moi Gomez, G. dos Santos, Campbell, Gerard Moreno

Sports Mole says: 2-1