Real Madrid vs Villarreal prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2023-04-07 19:00.
Real Madrid produced arguably their best performance of the season to beat Barcelona 4-0 in midweek and reach the Copa del Rey final, which is saying something given they hammered Valladolid 6-0 in La Liga (LL) last weekend. It gives manager Carlo Ancelotti a dilemma if he’s considering resting key players again, as they gear up to face Chelsea in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The 12-point gap to Barcelona at the top of the standings seems insurmountable but there’s no suggestion anyone at the Bernabéu has given up the chase, especially as they haven’t lost a home league game for more than a year (W12, D5). They’ve only ever lost one home H2H against Villarreal too (W16, D6), so must be confident of extending that record.
The visitors head to Madrid having compiled a five-match unbeaten run in the league, culminating in back-to-back multi-goal wins ‘to nil’ (W4, D1), including a game against Real Sociedad (W 2-0) that manager Quique Setién described as “spectacular in every sense”. That good form suggests if they’re going to beat Madrid here, this might be their best chance as they continue their bid to return to Europe next term.
Unbeaten in three competitive away games (W2, D1), the Yellow Submarine almost sunk Madrid here last term when battling to a 0-0 draw so the trip to the capital won’t necessarily overwhelm Setién’s side. They start the round seven points clear of seventh-placed Athletic Bilbao and in a European qualification position, which would only be strengthened by repeating or bettering last term’s draw.
Players to watch: Karim Benzema is breaking records left, right and centre as he’s bagged consecutive hat-tricks to become the first Madrid player to score 20 goals in a season for an 11th time! Villarreal’s José Luis Morales recently completed a hat-trick of a different sort, as his last three goals all arrived after the 80th minute.
Hot stat: Madrid have scored a league-high ten set-piece LL goals this term (excluding penalties) while Villarreal have scored a league-low two.