One of the biggest games of the early La Liga season will be hosted by the Santiago Bernabeu this Saturday. Europa League champions Villareal will meet Real Madrid, with both teams securing a win in the mid-week game. Real Madrid beat an overmatched Mallorca team with a scoreline of 6-1, while Villarreal secured their first win of the season against Elche, 2-1. Both teams have the necessary quality for this to be an amazing match.
However, Villarreal did open the league with four draws, so it will be interesting to see how will they respond just three days after finally securing a win. In Madrid, optimism is very high, as manager Carlo Ancelloti has got the squad playing attacking football and that has got the Bernabeu crowd roaring each moment a player touches the ball.
Here are three predictions and things to look out for on Saturday's La Liga match featuring Real Madrid-Villarreal!
Real Madrid-Villarreal Predictions
Who will be the hero for Real Madrid?
In the games they have played this La Liga season, Real Madrid has been lethal in front of goal. In the six games, they have 21 goals and while Karim Benzema is leading the pack with eight, other players have also chipped in. Last season, after Benzema's 23, the second-best. goalscorer was Casemiro with six goals. This year, after just six games, Vinicius Jr. already has five to follow the Frenchman and Marco Asensio added three, which is just two away from his tally for the entire season past.
In the first couple of games, it was the French-Brazillian connection upfront that brought the goals and the points to Madrid. Benzema scored a hat-trick against Celta in the first home game of the season and scored two in the opening match versus Alaves. Vini, on the other hand, scored two against Levante to secure the point away from home and added one goal versus Betis, Valencia, and Celta. In the game versus Mallorca, it was Asensio who was the hero, scoring three against his old club.
Now, coming into the weekend, it could be any other player in the attacking part of the squad that will carry the team. Eden Hazard, although he has been very good, has not gone onto the scoresheet yet, and this could be his game. Rodrygo scored a late winner against Inter in the Champions League but is yet to score in La Liga, while Luka Jovic had three good chances in the dying minutes versus Mallorca. All of these players might be potential game-winners for Los Blancos and it will be interesting to see who takes over. The best bet is certainly Benzema or Vinicius, but all of the other players also have the talent to do it.
Will Villarreal find the form with Gerard Moreno back?
The Yellow Submarine finally won a game this La Liga season. The last season's Europa League winners truly opened their win account in this edition of La Liga, putting four past Elche, even after shockingly conceding an equalizer in the first half. Before that game, Villareal probably should have won the game against Atletico Madrid in the second week, only to be denied the full points by a bizarre own goal by new signing Mandi in the 95th minute.
The attacking talent is definitely not the problem. Villareal boasts a squad of great players, led by Gerard Moreno and Paco Alcacer. They are supported by veteran Manu Trigueros in the middle, with youngster Samuel Chukwueze bombing down the wing. It is really the midfield stability that is the forte of this squad, even with two great strikers upfront.
Dani Parejo, Trigueros, Vincente Iborra, and Francis Coquelin are very solid players who can keep possession and break opponents' attacks without any problems. The problems usually happened in front of goal, as they only could play star striker Moreno for two games. However, it will be difficult to go onto the Bernabeu and establish some sort of control in the middle. This midfield has the ability to do it, but it is always more difficult away from home.
Will the Bernabeu crowd continue to create an amazing atmosphere at the stadium?
Whoever watched the two games Real Madrid played at home, definitely saw how the crowd reacted to just about anything happening on the field. It was completely unbelievable to see Real Madrid down 2-1 to Celta and the whole stadium still fully supporting the team. It has to be said that the Los Merengues fanbase has a reputation of being spoiled and toxic, booing their own players even in victories if they are having a bad game.
However, it seems like the pandemic truly changed everything. The fans look like they value the team more and they give them all the support needed. Eduardo Camavinga has been beloved by fans ever since taking the field against Celta and Jovic got massive ovations against Mallorca, even though he could not get the ball into the net. With this kind of support, the Bernabeu might become a true fort and it will be very interesting to see if Villarreal can grab some points there on Saturday.
Nonetheless, ahead of this La Liga event, do you agree with our Real Madrid-Villarreal predictions?
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