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

Estadio de la Ceramica will host a fascinating La Liga contest on Saturday night, with Villarreal welcoming Real Madrid in the top flight of Spanish football.

Los Blancos are second in the La Liga table, one point behind the leaders Barcelona, while the Yellow Submarine are third, eight points off the summit with a game in hand.

Match preview

Villarreal have enjoyed an excellent La Liga season, boasting a record of 13 wins, two draws and four defeats from their 19 matches to collect 41 points, which has left them third in the table, seven points behind second-placed Real Madrid and eight points off leaders Barcelona.

The Yellow Submarine crucially have a game in hand on the top two, so a win on Saturday would send out a real statement and boost their hopes of a title challenge.

Marcelino's side have been excellent at home in La Liga this season, picking up 25 points from their 10 matches in front of their own fans, but Real Madrid have also been impressive on their travels, securing 21 points from 10 away fixtures.

Villarreal's elimination from the Champions League has now been confirmed, though, with the Yellow Submarine suffering a 2-1 defeat to Ajax on Tuesday night.

The hosts have only managed to pick up one point from seven matches to sit down in 35th spot in the table, and there is no getting away from the fact that their European performances this season have been incredibly disappointing.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, will enter the match off the back of a 6-1 win over Monaco in the Champions League, with the result leaving them third in the overall table and in an excellent position to qualify for the knockout round of the tournament.

Los Blancos beat Levante 2-0 in La Liga last time out, meanwhile, and they have managed to close the gap on leaders Barcelona in the table to a single point.

Alvaro Arbeloa's side will therefore be bidding to move to the top of the division on Saturday before turning their attention to their final Champions League league stage fixture, which will take place against Benfica in Portugal on January 28.

Real Madrid have only lost six of their previous 54 matches against Villarreal in all competitions, while they recorded a 3-1 win in the reverse game earlier this season.

Los Blancos have not lost away to Villarreal since January 2023, while they have only been beaten twice by the Yellow Submarine on their travels since May 2009.

Villarreal La Liga form:

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Villarreal form (all competitions):

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Real Madrid La Liga form:

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Real Madrid form (all competitions):

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Team News

Villarreal will be without the services of five players on Saturday, with Willy Kambwala (hamstring), Logan Costa (knee), Pau Cabanes (knee), Santi Comesana (suspended) and Santiago Mourino (suspended) all unavailable for selection.

Head coach Marcelino will make changes to the team that started against Ajax in the Champions League, with Tajon Buchanan, Georges Mikautadze, Dani Parejo, Pau Navarro and Alfonso Pedraza potentially all being introduced.

Gerard Moreno is also pushing for a spot in the final third of the field, but the expectation is that Ayoze Perez will be given the nod alongside Mikautadze.

As for Real Madrid, Rodrygo and Brahim Diaz are both back in training, with the former recovering from the injury problem which has seen him miss the team's last three matches, while the latter had been with the Morocco squad at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Aurelien Tchouameni is out of this weekend's match through suspension, while Trent Alexander-Arnold (thigh), Eder Militao (hamstring), Ferland Mendy (hamstring) and Antonio Rudiger (knee) have been ruled out of the contest.

Arda Guler could feature in midfield due to Tchouameni's absence, with Federico Valverde again at right-back, while Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior will start off the back of excellent performances against Monaco in the Champions League.

Villarreal possible starting lineup:

Junior; Navarro, Veiga, Foyth, Pedraza; Buchanan, Parejo, Gueye, Moleiro; Perez, Mikautadze

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:

Courtois; Valverde, Huijsen, Asencio, Carreras; Guler, Camavinga, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius

We say: Villarreal 1-2 Real Madrid

This is such a tricky match to call, and it would not be a shock to see Villarreal claim the victory. However, we just have a feeling that Real Madrid will be able to navigate their way to a huge three points this weekend.

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