Returning from France after facing a gutting defeat against Lille, Real Madrid have barely any time to rest.
The men in white are scheduled to take on Villarreal on Matchday 9 of La Liga tonight at the Santiago Bernabeu and must thus put the negative feelings away quickly.
The Yellow Submarines have historically been a team to work Real Madrid up and pull out great results.
Since September 2021, the two teams have played seven times with three games ending in a draw and two wins to each team’s name. Last season, the two teams even played out an entertaining 4-4 draw at Estadio de la Ceramica in May.
Having dropped two vital points in La Liga in their last outing, Real Madrid will look to return to winning ways on Saturday night but it will not be easy against one of the league’s most in-form teams.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Villarreal.
Momentum is slipping away
Real Madrid’s consistency in recent years has pampered the team to an extent where it is almost impossible to recollect an incident where the team dropped points on two consecutive matchdays.
Even on the few occasions they did face such a situation last season, both games were draws with the team not defeated on either occasion.
For the first time in close to a year and a half, Real Madrid have dropped points in two successive games with at least one being a draw and the team appears clueless on how to tackle it.
The draw against Atletico Madrid at the weekend was heartbreaking for the men in white as the Rojiblancos found a late equaliser to deny Real Madrid three points.
They were thus expected to go into the UCL clash against Lille inspired to turn their situation around but they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat and the momentum is now slipping away.
Playing Villarreal low on confidence is far from simple, but taking three points tonight is vital for the club not only from the standings standpoint but also the mental impact that another stale performance can have.
Carlo Ancelotti will thus be under pressure to turn the team’s form around but there is a certain responsibility that players must take upon themselves as well. After all, leaders are born only under such pressure.
How much to risk?
Carlo Ancelotti’s squad to face Villarreal appears stacked especially with Dani Ceballos returning to the lineup. However, there is an element of risk around several players travelling.
Eder Militao, for starters, left the field against Lille with a niggle midweek. He did participate in training sessions in the days that followed but Real Madrid must be cautious over his fitness given the centre-back situation.
Militao has been relatively delicate in recent games and the manager must thus weigh up whether it is worth the risk of playing the defender tonight or whether Militao is better rested.
A similar situation looms around Rodrygo Goes who did not appear in the Lille clash due to some back discomfort. In this aspect, however, Endrick’s horror show may prompt Ancelotti to take the risk with Rodrygo more readily.
The biggest dilemma for the manager, however, lies around the situation of Kylian Mbappe who returned early from injury but is far from 100%.
The Frenchman made a cameo at Stade Pierre-Mauroy earlier this week but was far from his best. He has been excluded from France’s upcoming friendlies and one cannot help but wonder why the manager would risk him tonight with his fitness under doubt.
Mbappe’s participation on the night is thus under a cloud of doubt for Ancelotti must weigh up the pros and cons of fielding him against Villarreal. Needless to say, the coach is treading a tightrope.
The flying submarines
Atletico Madrid gave Real Madrid a run for their money in the previous matchday, and understandably so given how Diego Simeone’s men have made a strong start to the new season.
Los Blancos’ upcoming opponents, however, are in a better vein of form and placed higher than Atletico Madrid in the league standings at the moment.
Villarreal have been flying this season and have lost just one game of their eight so far, the defeat coming only against Hansi Flick’s red-hot Barcelona.
The Yellow Submarine are on 17 points at this stage, just one point behind Real Madrid themselves and are thus breathing down the Merengues’ neck.
The team which wins on Saturday night will finish the match-day and enter the international break as the second-placed team in La Liga and it is thus safe to say that the game will be a doozy.
Coming off a defeat, Real Madrid will be put to a serious test by Marcelino’s men who are on a two-game winning streak. After all, the likes of Ayoze Perez, Alex Baena and Sergi Cardona have been on fire with Perez even being second in the Pichichi race.