After achieving European qualification last season, now Villarreal surprisingly for many send 2018 sitting in the relegation zone and will be hoping for better performaces in the beginning of 2019. World champions Real Madrid come on their way on Thursday, currently sitting fourth, eight points behind Barcelona, but with game in hand and the Whites will be determined to cut the gap to the leaders in the coming games.
Villarreal vs Real Madrid Head to Head
| Last H2H games since 2000 | Last 10 games at Villarreal | Last meeting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Villarreal | 3 W/ 5 D/ 12 L | 4 W/ 2 D/ 4 L | Draw |
| Real Madrid | 12 W/ 5 D/ 3 L | 2 W/ 3 D/ 5 L | Draw |
Worth mentioning: Six of the last ten games saw both teams scoring and 5 times produced over 2,5 goals. Villarreal have kept just a single clean sheet in the last ten home games against Real, and missed to score on their own in 3 of these games. The last two games at El Madrigal saw each side scoring at least twice.
Last game between the teams: 19.05.2018 Villarreal – Real Madrid 2:2; Roger Martinnez 70’, Samu Castillejo 85’; Gareth Bale 11’, Cristiano Ronaldo 32’;
Last game at this venue: 19.05.2018 Villarreal – Real Madrid 2:2; Roger Martinnez 70’, Samu Castillejo 85’; Gareth Bale 11’, Cristiano Ronaldo 32’;
Villarreal vs Real Madrid Stats
| Actual as of: 31.12.2018 | Last game | Last 10 games | Last 5 games home/away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Villarreal | Draw | 3 W/ 5 D/ 2 L | 3 W/ 1 D/ 1 L |
| Real Madrid | Win | 8 W/ 0 D/ 2 L | 4 W/ 0 D/ 1 L |
Worth mentioning: Villarreal have not kept a clean sheet in the last 9 La Liga games, with the fans seeing both sides scoring in 7 of them. Real Madrid are 11 wins / 2 losses under Santiago Solari and despite recording wins and winning recently the Club World Cup, their performances on the pitch are unconvincing. Despite shining at the World Cup, Gareth Bale has a mere 4 goals in La Liga so far, but Real main struggles are at the back as there are eight teams with less goals conceded. In spite of that the Kings managed to keep a clean sheet in all of their last 3 league meetings, with all of them ending in under 2,5 goal games.
Last game Villarreal: 16.12.2018 Huesca – Villarreal 2:2; Cucho 44’ (penalty), Samuele Longo 90’; Carlos Bacca 63’ (penalty), Gerard Moreno 81’; Mario Gaspar was sent off for second yellow card in 65’ for the visitors and Gonzalo Melero missed the following penalty in the 66’.
Last game Real Madrid: 22.12.2018 Real Madrid – Al Ain 4:1 (Club world cup final); Luka Modric 14’, Marcos Llorente 60’, Sergio Ramos 79’, Yahia Nader 90’ (own goal)
Top performers Villarreal: Carlos Bacca and Gerard Moreno 4 goals, Karl Toko Ekambi 2 goals.
Top performers Real Madrid: Karim Benzema 6 goals, 2 assists, Gareth Bale 4 goals, 2 assists, Sergio Ramos 4 goals, 1 assist.
Villarreal vs Real Madrid News
Missing players Villarreal: Mariano Damian Barbosa, Manuel Iturra are out injured, but Miguelon and Bruno Soruano resumed training. Mario Gaspar is suspended.
Missing players Real Madrid: Marco Asensio and Nacho Fernandez will miss through injuries.
Villarreal vs Real Madrid Predictions
Over 4 cards