Real Madrid will be intent on bouncing back from their first defeat since January when they host Villarreal in La Liga on Saturday night, in the 2024-25 La Liga campaign. Currently, in the La Liga table, Real Madrid lead third-placed Villarreal by ten points. A second consecutive La Liga title looks realistic for Real Madrid, as Carlo Ancelotti’s team have started the season like a house on fire. Villarreal would be happy to bypass the team that thrashed them 5-1 in La Liga last year.
Match Preview
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti will be desperate for a positive reaction from his team after their freak loss to Lille in the Champions League on Wednesday. A penalty for Jonathan David, which came off a handball from Eduardo Camavinga, was the only goal of the game as Los Blancos suffered their first defeat across all competitions since January.
Wednesday’s result came after the capital club were left frustrated in the Madrid derby last weekend where a last-minute Atletico Madrid equaliser secured a 1-1 draw.
Despite not being at their best this season, Real Madrid have yet to lose a game in La Liga this campaign having last lost domestically to Atletico in September 2023. A three-point deficit to Barcelona is replicable, but they must maintain that if they are to beat Villarreal on Saturday. Another poor performance however, could heap the pressure on Ancelotti, who is already under pressure to succeed.
Last season, Real Madrid defeated Villarreal 4-1 at the Bernabeu in La Liga but the Yellow Submarine have been a hard side to beat for the Merengues lately. In the last six league games, they have won just the one game against a Villarreal side who will arrive fresh but with no competitive action since a home game against Las Palmas on the last day of September.
Form of Villarreal
Marco Antonio Villarreal’s exploits in the previous edition saw them finish eighth in La Liga, a compromise from the previous four seasons, when their performance clocked fifth, and sixth, and seventh. That they have seemed to regain freshness and vigor this season could be inferred by the glaring fact that they find themselves in third position of the table with five wins, two draws, and one loss thus obtaining a total of 17 points within the first eight games.
As Marcelino’s side have, in fact, won three of their last four league matches, they enjoyed back-to-back wins against Espanyol and Las Palmas. Villarreal, having scored 17 goals this season, right below Barcelona, to which 25 goals hail, boast of the second-best attacking record in the division.
But the fact is that, unlike Barcelona, Villarreal have fallen short as far as defense is concerned, having let in 15 goals, thus having one of the worst defensive records in La Liga this season. They will need to shore up their defense to challenge a top-four finish that would allow them to qualify for the Champions League competition.
