Real Madrid will hope to hit back after their first defeat since January when Villarreal visit Santiago Bernabeu in La Liga on Saturday. Carlo Ancelotti’s men are second in the Spanish topflight, behind Barcelona by three points, and the Yellow Submarine are actually within a single point of Los Blancos here.
Lille OSC beat Real 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League in midweek thanks to a Jonathan David penalty and Ancelotti will want to see a reaction from his squad. Beating Villarreal could temporarily close the gap on Barca and give the international break an air of positivity after another underwhelming showing from the Spanish and European kings. Another setback could start to put the Italian under pressure and just one win from six against Villarreal is not ideal.
The visitors have won three of their last four under Marcelino, with 17 goals scored to boast the second-best attacking record in La Liga behind Barca. Villarreal finished eighth last season after two fifth place and two seventh place berths but 15 goals against is one of the worst defensive records in the league. Unless they can fix that, UCL qualification is unlikely over the course of this season. With two wins from their last four meetings with Real, including a 2023 win in Madrid, this has shock potential.
Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
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How to watch and odds
- Date: Saturday, October 5 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Santiago Bernabeu – Madrid, Spain
- Watch: ESPN+/ESPN Deportes | Stream: Fubo (try for free)
- Odds: Real -400; Draw +550; Villarreal +1000
Story so far
Real’s loss to Lille was their first across all competitions since January and a late Atletico Madrid equalizer means that they are without a win in two. Los Merengues have been far from convincing so far despite the addition of Kylian Mbappe but they are still unbeaten in La Liga where their last defeat was away at Atleti back in September of 2023. Villarreal’s last top four finish was back in 2016 but they have shown attacking potential to emulate that in the early weeks of this season. Currently third with five wins, two draws and on loss from eight for 17 points, Marcelino will be hopeful that an improvement at the back can see them become true UCL candidates.
Team news
Real: Thibaut Courtois is out so Andriy Lunin should start while Eder Militao is also now a serious doubt after coming off in Lille. Aurelien Tchouameni could move into defense and Mbappe, who returned earlier than expected in Lille, could now start. Rodrygo is also expected to be in the XI after missing out in France with David Alaba, Dani Ceballos and Brahim Diaz the other home absentees.
Possible Real XI: Lunin; Carvajal, Tchouameni, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Camavinga, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius.
Villarreal: Willy Kambwala, Gerard Moreno, Juan Foyth and Alfonso Pedraza are all out while Denis Suarez and Ayoze Perez are doubtful. Perez has scored six times in La Liga so far but he is not expected to be fit for this one. Alex Baena should come into Marcelino’s XI while Nicolas Pepe could also start after his first goal of the season.
Possible Villarreal XI: Conde; Femenia, Bailly, Costa, S Cardona; Akhomach, Parejo, Gueye, Baena; Barry, Pepe.
Prediction
This one should be a tight encounter with Villarreal running Real close. However, the Yellow Submarine will likely be sunk by Los Blancos’ attacking might over the 90 minutes. Pick: Real 2, Villarreal 1.
