La Liga: Yellow Submarine to Pose New Year Test for Real Madrid

Villarreal vs Real Madrid

Real Madrid’s first La Liga test of 2023 will be a tough one as they take on Villarreal at the Estadio de la Ceramica.

The reigning champions came back from the World Cup break with a 2-0 win over Real Valladolid thanks to a brace from the returning Karim Benzema.

And now, they face a Villarreal side that was also victorious in their first La Liga match back from the break under new head coach Quique Setien.

The La Liga 2023 betting odds will fancy Los Blancos to get the win they need to keep pace with Barcelona at the top of the table. But with star striker Gerard Moreno back healthy, the Yellow Submarine will pose quite a threat to the champions.

Talking Points

Villarreal returning to form under new coach

After getting off to a rocky start, the Quique Setien era in Villarreal is back on track. Setien, who replaced Unai Emery as Villarreal coach, lost his first three games in charge, including back-to-back La Liga matches against Athletic Bilbao and Mallorca.

But he has since led the Yellow Submarine to back-to-back victories over Espanyol just before the World Cup break and against Valencia in their first La Liga match post-World Cup.

Star striker Gerard Moreno, who has had another injury-plagued season, made his first start since September against Valencia, and he made a decent impact with two shots and an assist. Meanwhile, Samuel Chukwueze shone with two shots and scored his first La Liga goal of the season.

Setien has set up his preferred 4-3-3 system at Villarreal, with Chukwueze and Yeremy Pino flanking Moreno. Chukwueze once again found the net in Villarreal’s 5-1 thrashing of Cartagena in the Copa del Rey. Arnaut Danjuma also scored and will add another attacking weapon off the bench.

And despite a slight slip, the Yellow Submarine still have one of the best defences in Spain. They have conceded just 11 goals this season, which is second only to leaders Barcelona.

Villarreal have been particularly impressive at home, where they have won four of six games, with one draw and one loss.

Real Madrid happy to have Benzema back

Real Madrid returned to La Liga action with a 2-0 victory over Real Valladolid. Reigning Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema made a successful return from injury by scoring a brace on six shots.

Benzema even when fit earlier this season wasn’t at his Ballon d’Or-winning best. But with seven goals in eight La Liga appearances, the 35-year-old is still capable of creating plenty of La Liga 2023 highlights.

With Benzema’s return, Carlo Ancelotti now has his complete squad at his disposal, which will allow him to rotate his side as he likes to do.

Ancelotti gave fringe players Dani Ceballos and Marco Asensio rare starts against Valladolid, but World Cup standouts Aurelien Tchouameni and Luka Modric are likely to come into the squad against Villarreal.

Fede Valverde is also likely to take up his usual spot on the right wing, as Ancelotti has done often in big games, with Benzema and Vinicius Junior headlining the attack.

Real Madrid have been road warriors this season. They have the best away record in La Liga with seven wins in eight games, with 19 goals scored and only seven conceded. They have scored two or more goals in all but one of their away matches.

History

Real Madrid have had the better of Villarreal in recent years. Los Blancos have not lost to the Yellow Submarine in their last nine La Liga matches.

Although, six of those games have been draws. Last season under Unai Emery, Villarreal held Real to two goalless draws. The last goalless draw in La Liga between the two sides before last season was back in 2006.

Villarreal have now held Real Madrid to a draw in their last five visits to El Madrigal/Estadio de la Ceramica.

Betting Tip

SBOTOP odds have Villarreal priced as 3.40 underdogs at home against Real Madrid, who are installed as 2.08 favourites. A draw is 3.40.

Although it’s been a while since Villarreal beat Real, they have at least been competitive against the Spanish giants. And I expect them to give the reigning champions another challenging match at the Ceramica.

The Yellow Submarine are getting used to Setien’s system, and with Gerard Moreno back healthy, they will be much more dangerous going forward against Real.

 

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