Villarreal – Real Madrid

The title race in La Liga is once again open, after the current leader Real Madrid lost its visit to Villarreal during the week. Zinedine Zidane’s team lost for a second time since the beginning of the season and now Real Madrid have only one point of advantage in front of Barcelona. They still have a game in hand, though.

Two early goals conceded against Valencia happened to be too much for Real Madrid to overcome, although Cristiano Ronaldo scored just a minute before the halftime break.

Now Real Madrid will have another difficult test away from home. Villarreal still dreams of Champions League football next season, with the Yellow Submarine being six points behind the 4th Atletico Madrid. A win against Real Madrid will make Villarreal a real contender for the Top 4 and will increase this team’s confidence big time.

After having problems with injured players for a long time, now Real Madrid’s manager Zinedine Zidane could be more calm about the fitness of his players. The Brazilian defender Danilo is the only one who still recovers from an injury, which means that the French tactician could use his best possible starting XI at the El Madrigal.

Villareal could be without four of their players – Nicola Sansone, Cristian Espinoza, Cedric Bakambu and Bojan Jokic, who still have some problems with injuries.

Most surely Real Madrid will try to bounce back after suffering a defeat in Valencia. The Los Blancos still have a game in hand and a point more in front of Barcelona, so they are still in a pole position to clinch their first title after few years of waiting. But they will have a strong opponent in front of them, which guarantees a good and interesting game at the El Madridal. And most surely, Barcelona and Sevilla will watch what’s happening with an increased interest.