(Football news) Surviving from their previous league match, Villarreal lost 3-0 at home against Real Sociedad, while Los Blancos, who are currently ranked second in the table, were held to a 1-1 draw by Real Betis last weekend.  

With several important players out in recent weeks, Real Madrid has yet managed to maintain a winning record and has only lost once this season, that defeat coming at the hands of Atletico Madrid in late September.

Thanks to a 3-2 victory over Union Berlin in Germany earlier this week, Carlo Ancelotti’s team easily advanced to the Champions League knockout stage as Group C victors. This makes it six wins from six games.

However, Real Madrid was beaten to a 1-1 tie by Real Betis in the league last weekend, and as a result, they are now two points behind leaders Girona, who are enjoying an extremely remarkable season, in second place with 39 points.

In their 16 league games this season, Ancelotti’s team has won 12, drawn three, and lost one. They also have the best defensive record, having allowed just 10 goals, which is even more impressive given that Thibaut Courtois, the starting goalkeeper, and Eder Militao, the starting center back, have been sidelined since August.

The return of several important players from injury in January should give Real Madrid the push they need to compete for victory in the second half of the 2023–2024 season, which they will be aiming for against Villarreal and Alaves in their final two games.

In reality, Villarreal has defeated Real Madrid in their last two La Liga encounters, winning 3-2 at Bernabeu the previous campaign. Their most recent setback to Los Blancos was in May 2021.

Villarreal should therefore go into this game with a lot of confidence. However, they were defeated 3-0 at home by Real Sociedad last weekend in the league, and their uneven season has left them in 13th place in the standings, having only

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