La Liga: Madrid Need to Dig Deep in Villarreal

Villarreal vs Real Madrid

Carlo Ancelotti takes Real Madrid to the Estadio de la Ceramica on Saturday for a testing La Liga clash against Unai Emery’s Villarreal.

We’re at a crucial point of the campaign; Los Blancos are six points clear of Sevilla at the top of the table, with 15 games and 45 points to play for. But they have one win in three games and are missing their main striker, hardly the ideal preparation before a game against Europa chasing Villarreal.          

The hosts come into the game with back to back wins while Real narrowly beat Granada last week, following a surprise home draw to Elche.

Talking Points

Real Madrid without Benzema again

Los Blancos star striker Karim Benzema looks likely to sit this game out and that has to be a worry for head coach Carlo Ancelotti who relies so heavily on the league’s top scorer. Benzema has plundered 17 goals so far, while striker partner Vinicius Junior has 12. The Madrid stars are the two SBOTOP favourites to win the Golden Boot, the Frenchman heavily odds on at 1.10 while Vinicius is the next in line at a price of 15.00. But Benzema limped off during the 2-2 draw with Elche, feeling a strain in his left leg. Doctors have warned Ancelotti that his man may have been overloaded and that is a concern midway through the campaign.

Last week a home game against Granada gave Los Blancos a chance to recover from the draw with Elche which was followed by a Copa del Rey disappointment when they lost to Athletic Bilbao in the fifth round. But Granada didn’t give Madrid an easy ride by any stretch of the imagination and it took until the 75^th minute to break through as Marco Asensio fired in a rocket from distance. He earned a yellow card for his over enthusiastic celebration and that showed just how much the result meant to the league leaders.    

Second placed Sevilla are at home to 14^th placed Elche on Friday night and should reduce the gap at the top of the table to three points. Once the La Liga 2022 updates from Sevillecome in Los Blancos will know exactly where they stand but it is likely to be just three points clear.  

Seven suits Villarreal just fine

The latest La Liga 2022 betting odds predict the Yellow Submarine will finish in seventh place, the exact position they landed in last season, and a return of Europa League football will signify another success. Unai Emery’s team has been beset by injury and Covid absences but they have kept themselves in an extremely competitive race with back to back victories, and are currently sitting in sixth place, ahead of Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao. 

Only once in the last nine seasons has Villarreal finished below seventh place and I wouldn’t bet against them taking a top seven place again in this campaign.   

Gerard Moreno is top scoring with eight goals, scoring two in a recent 5-0 destruction of Levante and, alongside Paco Alcacer; he could prove a handful for the Real Madrid defence. In midfield the experienced Dani Parejo is working well alongside Etienne Capoue, signed from Watford in the summer. Meanwhile, highly regarded centre half Pau Torres is a big player at both ends of the pitch, scoring four goals, while wingback Alberto Moreno has been playing in a more advanced position and has weighed in with three goals.

There is plenty of quality in this Villarreal group and Emery has them playing well as a unit; this will be a good test of Real Madrid’s superiority.     

History

With just four wins from the last 43 meetings with Real Madrid, the Yellow Submarine has that sinking feeling every time Los Blancos come into view. But while victories have been hard to come by Villarreal have drawn their last two at home against these opponents, and they picked up a goalless draw at the Santiago Bernabeu earlier this season.  

Villarreal are unbeaten in five games at home and will give the league leaders a tough afternoon, and there is little difference between the two teams in terms of recent form. Real have won four, drawn one and lost one of the last six games, in all competitions, while Villarreal have won three drawn one and lost two.   

Betting Tip

	Villarreal vs Real Madrid	1X2 Draw @ 3.16
	February 12, 23:15 (GMT+8)

This is a really tough assignment for the league leaders as the odds show. There’s so little to choose between the two sides for this match and we’re pricing the Yellow Submarine at 2.55 and Los Blancos at 2.56. Another 1-1 draw is the most likely score line at odds of 5.41 and that’s where I’m heading.

 

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