(Football news) Barcelona’s draw against Espanyol last weekend has put Real Madrid level on top of the table. Now they take on Villarreal away from home in search of 3 crucial points. Real Madrid’s last game was against 4th division side Cacereno. Los Blancos scraped through with a 1-0 win but the performance was not up to standard. Carlo Ancelotti will be hoping that his side can show a better display against Villarreal. The yellow submarine are currently 7th on the La Liga table. Quique Setien took over from Unai Emery as manager in November. After 1 draw and 3 defeats in the first 4 games Setien has turned things around. Villarreal now have 5 consecutive wins in all competitions.

Mariano Diaz will once again miss out due to an injury. Dani Carvajal missed the Copa Del Rey fixture but Carlo Ancelotti said he should be fine for the Villarreal match. However, as it turns out, the Spaniard hasn’t made it in time and will miss the match. Back up right back Alvaro Odriozola is also out after he suffered an injury against Cacereno which means that Lucas Vazquez is guarenteed to start. Ancelotti will be hoping that Carvajal gets fit soon as after this match Real Madrid have a trip to Saudi Arabia for the Spanish Super Cup.

As for Villarreal, Giovanni Lo Celso is out with a hamstring injury while Geronimo Rulli is one step away from joining Ajax. Francis Coquelin is also a major doubt but Juan Foyth, Etienne Capoue, Samuel Chukwueze, Dani Parejo, Pau Torres, Alberto Moreno and Yeremi Pino are all set to back after missing the Copa Del Rey clash with Cartagena.

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