La Liga preview and odds: Real Madrid vs Villarreal

Published on: 20/04/2016

La Liga preview and odds: Real Madrid vs Villarreal

April 20, 2016 22:00pm - Estadio Santiago Bernabeu

La Liga

After forcing their way back into the title race with a run of seven straight wins, Real Madrid will try to keep the pressure on their rivals with a win over fourth-ranked Villarreal at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night.

Real just one point off the pace

In just four weeks, the gap between league leaders Barcelona and third-ranked Real Madrid has reduced from 12 points to just one. While the Catalan team have suffered an alarming dip inform, the team from the capital have kept on winning and can now be classed as genuine title contenders.

On home soil, Zinedine Zidane`s men have scored four goals or more in eight of their last 10 games, and have only lost twice all season (against Barcelona and Atletico Madrid). They come into this fixture on the back of a 5-1 win away to Getafe.

Fourth place still not guaranteed for Villarreal

Villarreal are currently sat in fourth place in the league table with a six-point cushion over fifth-ranked Athletic Club. However, with five games still left to play, their place in the top four is by no means guaranteed.

In their last La Liga match, the Yellow Submarine suffered a shock defeat away to relegation-threatened Rayo Vallecano. That was just their third defeat in their last 20 league matches. Away from home, they have won just one of their last seven, having lost two and drawn the other four.

Team news

Real Madrid should have a full strength team available, while the visitors will be without Samu Castillejo, Tomas Pina, Jaume Costa and Mateo Musacchio.

Recent form (League)

Real Madrid: WWWWW

Villarreal: LWWDL

Betting odds and tips

Real Madrid are in great form and should have no trouble finding a way past Marcelino`s men. The win market does not offer much value but the goals market could be worth exploring with 12 out of Real Madrid`s last 13 home matches having produced four goals or more.

You can back Over3.5 Goals at 8/11 with Bet365.

Published on: 20/04/2016

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (20/04/2016 02:50:20) but are subject to change.