Preview: Real Madrid vs Villarreal - prediction, team news, lineups

Real Madrid will be aiming to return to winning ways in Spain's top flight when they resume their campaign at home to Villarreal on Saturday evening.

Los Blancos are currently fourth in the La Liga table, boasting 15 points from their opening seven matches of the season, while Villarreal are ninth in the division on eight points.

Match preview

Real Madrid are already six points off the pace being set by Barcelona in Spain's top flight, with Jose Mourinho's side sitting fourth in the division, and they have lost two of their last four at this level, including the Madrid derby to Atletico Madrid before the international break.

There have been positive signs this season, but Barcelona's incredible form means that the room for error is small, and there is big pressure on Mourinho to deliver a win in this match.

Los Blancos are heading into a vital run of matches before the end of October, including Champions League fixtures with Roma and RB Leipzig, while they will take on Villarreal, Sevilla and Barcelona during a tough period in the top flight of Spanish football.

Real Madrid will certainly take encouragement from the fact that they have only lost six of their 55 contests with Villarreal throughout history, while they have been victorious in each of the last four meetings between the two teams.

That said, Villarreal do have a recent away league win over Real Madrid to their name, recording a 3-2 victory in this fixture back in April 2023.

Villarreal's start to the season has been a disappointment overall, having already lost four times in all competitions, but the Yellow Submarine will enter this game off the back of successive wins.

Indeed, Inigo Perez's side recorded a 3-1 victory over Malaga on September 17 before beating Levante by the same scoreline three days later to propel themselves up the division.

Villarreal currently sit ninth in the table, boasting a record of two wins, two draws and three defeats, which has brought them eight points, seven fewer than their opponents this weekend.

The Yellow Submarine are again competing in the Champions League this season, with Napoli their opponents next week, while they face a trip to Anfield to tackle Liverpool on October 20.

Villarreal also have league games against Elche, Valencia and Espanyol before the end of the month, in addition to a Copa del Rey contest with Manacor.

Real Madrid La Liga form:

Real Madrid form (all competitions):

Villarreal La Liga form:

Villarreal form (all competitions):

Team News

Real Madrid are expected to have both Kylian Mbappe and Ibrahima Konate in their starting side on Saturday, with the pair recovering from knee injuries that they suffered during the international break.

However, Federico Valverde faces a late assessment on the ankle injury that he picked up in the Madrid derby, with the midfielder seen as a major doubt.

Eder Militao (muscle), Rodrygo (knee), Ferland Mendy (hip), Raul Asencio (leg) and Dean Huijsen (suspended) are also out of the match with Villarreal.

Aurelien Tchouameni and Bernardo Silva could feature as the midfield two, while Arda Guler is also in line to feature in the starting side.

As for Villarreal, Tajon Buchanan (hamstring) is out of the match due to a hamstring issue, but the visitors are otherwise in strong shape for this match.

Head coach Perez has a big decision to make in the final third of the field, as Ayoze Perez and Georges Mikautadze were both on the scoresheet last time out; the latter could be given the nod from the start here.

Santi Comesana is back from injury and should feature in the middle of the midfield, while Nicolas Pepe could benefit from Buchanan's absence.

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:

Courtois; Dumfries, Konate, Rudiger, Carreras; Tchouameni, Bernardo; Guler, Bellingham, Vinicius; Mbappe

Villarreal possible starting lineup:

Gulacsi; Mourino, Navarro, Veiga, Cardona; Comesana, Gueye; Akhomach, Moleiro, Pepe; Mikautadze

We say: Real Madrid 3-1 Villarreal

Villarreal are capable of making this a tough match for Real Madrid, and we are expecting the visitors to score, but Los Blancos should be able to navigate their way to all three points.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.