La Liga: Real Madrid Owes it's Fans a Performance

Real Madrid vs Villarreal

Summer can’t come soon enough for the white half of Madrid, after a forgettable season which is just about to fizzle out.

La Liga Real Madrid vs Villarreal is an attractive fixture for the neutrals, but for the home side, it’s a chance to give the Bernabeu faithful something to cheer as they head towards a welcome break.

The SBOBET odds backed a Barca title from the off, but the way Los Blancos’ have meekly surrendered will not have pleased their fans one bit. Crashing out of the Champions League and then losing to Barca in the Copa Del Rey all adds to the pain of watching the Catalans stroll to another La Liga title.

Head coach Zinedine Zidane has a rebuilding job to do.

The mood is quite the opposite in the visitors’ camp as a run of ten points from five games has lifted the Yellow Submarine out of the drop zone, and now five points clear. But their safety isn’t yet guaranteed, so head coach Javier Calleja will have his team right up for this game, which could mean more pain for Los Blancos.

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Talking Points

ZZ’s Summer Plans

Two wins, two draws and two defeats in the last six league games rather sums up a patchy season for Real Madrid, who have lost ten games in total. That’s some number for a team touted to challenge at the start of the campaign. But a poor start to the season under the newly installed Julen Lopetegui set the tone for nine months of disappointment for the Real fans.

Zidane was drafted in to sort things out, and I expect he will with a summer spending spree. Premier League stars Eden Hazard and David de Gea are already in his sights.

But with three games still to play to see out this campaign, Real Madrid owes their fans a decent finish. Los Blancos’ striker Karim Benzema has been in superb form, scoring each of his side’s last eight goals, a club record, but a hamstring injury is keeping him sidelined, and that has meant two games without a goal and a shocking 1-0 defeat to relegation threatened Rayo Vallecano in midweek.

Gareth Bale prepare for La Liga clash vs Villarreal — Gareth Bale has come under fire after scoring just eight goals

The spotlight is on Gareth Bale again, for much of the season the target of the fans anger. The Welshman has only scored eight league goals and often cut a disgruntled figure, but he’s the second top scorer at the Bernabeu, with the next highest scorer being centre back Sergio Ramos.

The Rayo result was a disaster, but it was no real surprise that Los Blancos played out a 0-0 draw away to Getafe last week, the minnows are in fourth place and chasing a Champions League spot.

How times have changed!

Yellow Submarine is ready to surface

Villarreal fans have had a torrid time for much if this season too. Languishing in and around the drop zone is unchartered territory for the Yellow Submarine in recent years; and when you look at the talent in their squad it doesn’t make a lot of sense.

But head coach Javier Calleja has turned things around, just in time, as his team has played with a combination of incisive attacking and steely defence. Calleja has plenty of creative talent in his squad with top scorer Karl Toko Ekambi outscoring respected marksmen Carlos Bacca and Gerard Moreno. Meanwhile, former Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla has made ten assists.

Defensive trio Alvaro Gonzalez, Mario Gaspar and Ramiro Funes Mori have accumulated a whopping 39 yellow cards and three red cards between them this season, so Bale and company can expect a rough ride.

History

The head to head Real Madrid vs Villarreal results are no surprise. In the 37 games played over the past two decades Los Blancos have had the lion’s share of the wins with 21 to Villarreal’s four, and there have been ten draws.

But Santi Cazorla scored a brace as the Yellow Submarine held Los Blancos to a 2-2 draw earlier in the season, and Villarreal hasn’t lost in the last three meetings.

The visitors will try to keep things tight and unsettle the home crowd, if the hosts do get an early goal they should go on to win, having accumulated four home victories on the bounce.

Betting Tip

	Real Madrid vs Villarreal	Under 3.25 goals @ 1.84
	May 05, 22:15 (GMT+8)

Real can no longer claim to be the best team in Madrid, never mind La Liga. They trail Atletico by nine points, with three games to play.

So for the hosts this game is as much about pride as anything, while the in form visitors still have plenty to play for.

The latest Real Madrid vs Villarreal betting odds suggest this will not be a walkover; with the home side at 1.70, Villarreal at 5.00 and 3.55 the draw.

Los Blancos have failed to score in the last two games, and with Karim Benzema sidelined the Villarreal defence will be set up to frustrate.