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With Madrid suffering a harsh loss during the week against Valencia, Zinedine Zidane and company will be looking to grab all three points against sixth place La Liga side Villarreal CF midafternoon Sunday night.
Madrid will be coming up against an inconsistent Villarreal side who have recently enjoyed a mild two-game winning streak. The sixth-placed La Liga club won their weekday match against Roma in a 1-0 contest against AS Roma in the second leg of the Round of 32 in the Europa League – Villarreal was knocked out due to a 4-1 aggregate.
PROJECTED STARTING XI:
Real Madrid: Navas; Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo; Kroos, Casemiro, Kovacic; Vazquez, Ronaldo, Benzema
Villarreal: Andres Fdez; Rukavina, Alvaro, Bonera, Angel; Rodrigo, Bruno, Cheryshev, Soriano; Soldado Santos B.
Player to Watch: After sitting out of the entire first half of the La Liga season, former Tottenham Hotspur bust Roberto Soldado has made his triumphant return with Villarreal. The Spanish striker has nurtured his Cruciate Ligament Rupture and is looking to return to form. The 31-year-old striker made his first appearance of the season against Roma where his side won 1-0 due to Soldado’s assist to Santos Borre. With the Spanish striker returning with a bang, Madrid will surely need to keep an eye on the inconsistent attacker.
X-Factor: With Gareth Bale looking to regain his form following his two-month long Ankle injury, the Welsh winger could finally play his first 90 minutes since November of last year. In Madrid’s last two matches, Bale has played a total of 47 minutes and has scored one goal. If Bale is able to start this Sunday, Madrid could flood Villarreal’s defense with a fast-paced offense flowing through the Welshman.
Time and Location: Sunday, 26 February, 14:45 EST / El Madrigal Stadium; Villarreal, Spain
Top Goal Scorer (Goals (all comps)):
· Real Madrid:
1. Cristiano Ronaldo - 15 (22)
2. Alvaro Morata - 7 (11)
3. Gareth Bale - 6 (8)
· Villarreal:
1. Nicola Sansone - 7 (8)
2. Roberto Soriano – 4 (5)
3. Bruno – 3 (4)
Table (Record: W-D-L):
Real Madrid: 1st – 52pts (16-4-2)
Villarreal: 6th – 39pts (10-9-4)
Staff Predictions
| Result (1) | Score (2) | Goal Scorers (3) | Total Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result (1) | Score (2) | Goal Scorers (3) | Total Score | |
| Om | RM Win | 2-1 | CR7, Ramos; Higuaín | 42 |
| Kiyan | RM Win | 3-1 | Benz, CR7, Asensio; Pjanic | 45 |
| Timm | RM Win | 2-1 (RM win extra time) | CR7, Ramos; Dybala | 41 |
| Mike | - | - | - | 34 |
| Lucas | RM Loss | 1-2 | CR7; Higuaín, Dybala | 26 |
| Nate | RM Win | 4-2 | -CR7x2, Bale, Morata; Higuain, Dybala | 47 |
| Marc | - | - | - | 3 |
| Lewis | - | - | - | 10 |
| Tommy | RM Loss | 1-2 | Benz; Higuaín, Mandzukic | 19 |
| Naguib | RM Win | 2-0 | CR7, Bale | 29 |
| Vicki | - | - | - | 1 |
| Ondra | RM Win | 2-0 | CR7, Ramos | 18 |
| Jack | RM Win | 2-2 (RM win on pk's 4-3) | CR7, Ramos; Dybala x2 | 6 |
| Matt | RM Win | 1-0 | CR7 | 8 |
| Sam | RM Win | 2-1 | - | 1 |
| José | RM Win | 3-1 | CR7 x2, Morata; Mandzukic | 3 |