Real Madrid head to the Estadio de la Ceramica on Sunday night to face off with La Liga rivals Villarreal. The Yellow Submarine are looking for their first win of the La Liga season.
The visitors have collected four points from six possible and are coming off of a disappointing home draw with Real Valladolid, 1-1. Real Madrid look just as inconsistent this season as they were last term.
Villarreal go into the fixture with just one point after two matches. The Yellow Submarine drew versus Granada 4-4 and lost 2-1 to Levante. They too are inconsistent and look likely of fighting relegation once more this season.
Javier Calleja’s team has conceded six goals in two matches. Their games saw over 2.5 goals per game with both teams scoring.
Real Madrid’s defence hasn’t been much better. Los Blancos concede an average of 1.0 goals per match. They have scored four times with Karim Benzema tallying two of Real Madrid’s scores. The striker has scored in each of Real Madrid’s matches.
Zidane’s team is undefeated in 12 of their last 14 matches in all competitions against Villarreal. Six of those 12 matches ended in victory for Real Madrid.
Real Madrid are in the midst of an injury crisis. Midfielder Isco is the most recent player to join the long list of injured players at the Santiago Bernabeu. Isco joins Eden Hazard, Ferland Mendy, Brahim Diaz, James Rodriguez, and Rodrygo on the list of injured stars for Real Madrid.
Villarreal could have joy on Sunday due to Real Madrid’s laundry list of hurt stars. Despite the missing players at Real Madrid, they should still take advantage of Villarreal’s porous defence. Villarreal’s two matches in La Liga have both seen over 2.5 goals scored and both teams find the back of the net.
Three players are expected to miss the fixture for Villarreal. Full-back Alberto Moreno sustained a calf injury that will keep him out until November. Ruben Pena is out for the foreseeable future due to a hamstring issue and Bruno Soriano has a knee injury.
Striker Gerard Moreno has scored two goals for Villarreal this term. Like Benzema, he goes into the match with a hot hand. Moreno scored when these teams last met in 2018-19.
Sunday night’s match at Villarreal should be a goal-fest. The two teams will both find the back of the net as Real Madrid win with over 2.5 goals scored.