Villarreal vs Real Madrid Online Betting Odds Preview.

Villarreal vs Real Madrid

Wednesday 23 September 2009,

El Madrigal

Kick-Off: 20:00 CET (19:00 UK time)

Villarreal

Villarreal may likely be dreading the prospect of facing giants Real Madrid tonight, after a poor start to the season that has seen the Castellón side take only two points from their first three matches.

Villarreal lost 3-2 to Athletic Bilbao on the weekend, and could only manage 1-1 draws against Mallorca and Osasuna in their first two matches of the season.

Still, manager Ernesto Valverde is confident that his side are capable of taking three points from this match, in spite of a number of injury concerns. Midfielder Ariel Ibagaza picked up a hamstring tear in the weekend loss and will be absent, whilst Nilmar and David Fuster are both doubtful.

Captain Marcos Senna, who was expected to be out of contention until October with a hamstring injury, is said to be recovering well and could even be in contention to face Madrid tonight, although he is still rated as doubtful.

Best Villarreal Odds for Online Betting: Bet on Villarreal to win at 6 from (see full Villarreal-Real Madrid odds and an EXCLUSIVE FREE OFFER further down the page)

 

Real Madrid

Last season's La Liga Primera runners-up, Real Madrid, continued their unblemished start to the season with a 5-0 thumping of Xerez on Sunday.

The win, however, was not without its difficulties, as Madrid only managed to score four of their five goals in the final 15 minutes, holding a precarious 1-0 lead for the majority of the match.

Still, Madrid should be confident coming into this match, after maintaining a 100% record as they stand top of the table with rivals Barcelona.

Real Madrid manager Manuel Pellegrini, who is facing his former club in this match, has a relatively large absentee list to contend with, as Alvaro Arbeloa, Xabi Alonso, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Christoph Metzelder are all injured, and Pepe is suspended.

The long list of missing players means that Dutch international midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart has been named in the matchday squad, and could feature for Madrid after holding only a very limited place in the new Galacticos squad since the start of the season.

Cristiano Ronaldo will be looking to set a new record for Real Madrid tonight, by being the first player in the team's history to score in their first four matches. Incidentally, this feat was achieved last night by Barcelona's new signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, after the Swedish striker scored in Barca's 4-1 victory over Racing Santander.

Best Real Madrid Odds for Online Betting: Bet on Real Madrid to win at 1.61 from (see full Real Madrid vs Villarreal odds and an EXCLUSIVE FREE OFFER further down the page)

Prediction

Villarreal triumphed 3-2 over Real Madrid in last season's fixture at El Madrigal, whilst Madrid won 1-0 in the reverse fixture at the Bernebau.

Unfortunately for Villarreal, they have a long way to go to achieve the same standard of football which saw them finish fifth last season, as the opening three matches have cast doubts on the ability of El Submarino Amarillo to post a similar finish.

On a positive note, Villarreal have beaten Madrid at home in two of their past three meetings, and Los Blancos are still trying to find team consistency since the summer transfer window.

Real Madrid have had some frailities exposed, if only temporarily, in their opening matches of the season, and if Villarreal can put together a strong team performance, then an upset could very well be in the cards in this match.

But with Madrid's strong start to the season - and Villarreal's less-than-impressive one - Los Merengues still have to look good value, as they enter this match as favourites for victory.

Villarreal vs Real Madrid Prediction: Villarreal 1 - Real Madrid 2

 

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