Real Madrid and Villarreal meet on Matchday 8 of the 2025/26 La Liga campaign. Saturday's contest pits second against the third, as both teams attempt to close the gap on league leaders Barcelona before the upcoming international break. Here at Flashscore, we've analysed the stats to provide you with several expert betting tips ahead of this weekend's headline fixture.
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Real Madrid currently sit one point behind early pace-setters Barcelona, while there's a three-point gap between Los Blancos and Marcelino García Toral's Villarreal. The hosts suffered a painful derby defeat last weekend, but easily dispatched Champions League opponents Kairat Almaty in midweek. Meanwhile, Villarreal won their third consecutive La Liga fixture last Saturday, before snatching a late equaliser against Juventus on Wednesday.
Real Madrid vs. Villarreal; Saturday, 20:00 (BST)
Kylian Mbappé to score 2+ goals: 21/10 (bet365)
Real Madrid to win, Mbappé to score, and Arda Güler to score or assist: 12/5 (bet365)
Odds courtesy of bet365. Correct at time of publication and subject to change.
Chasing down the leaders
Real Madrid come into this game still wounded from their heavy loss to cross-city foes Atlético Madrid. While thrashing Kairat helped to soften the blow, a victory on home soil against a potential title rival would go a long way to repairing some of the damage, although it may take some time to properly recover from that 5-2 mauling at the Metropolitano. Although they relinquished top spot following Barça's narrow win over Real Sociedad, Los Blancos won't be too disheartened by their current situation after winning each of their opening six league contests this term. Prior to Saturday's sobering episode, Xabi Alonso's men overcame Osasuna (1-0), Real Oviedo (0-3), Mallorca (3-1), Real Sociedad (1-2), Espanyol (2-0), and Levante (1-2) in domestic action, as well as beating Marseille (2-1) on Champions League duty.
Villarreal join Barcelona as one of only two teams that have currently registered three or more consecutive league triumphs. The Yellows arrive at the Bernabéu in great form after three victories in quick succession, having defeated Osasuna (2-1), Sevilla (1-2), and Athletic Bilbao (1-0) within an eight-day period. The Castellón-based outfit also netted a dramatic late equaliser in Wednesday's entertaining Champions League meeting with Juventus, ensuring they came away with a share of the spoils.
However, Villarreal have just come through a tricky period. After starting the season with impressive wins over La Liga newcomers Real Oviedo (2-0) and struggling Girona (5-0), the Yellow Submarine could only muster a draw against Celta Vigo at the Estadio de Balaídos and suffered a 2-0 loss to Atlético in the Spanish capital. They then kicked off their Champions League campaign with a disappointing defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
Two teams with plenty of attacking enthusiasm
Saturday's opponents make up two of the four top-scoring teams in La Liga. Barcelona lead the way on 21 goals, with Real Madrid having netted five fewer than the reigning champions. Atléti then follow on 14, which is one more than Villarreal's respectable tally of 13 goals. Therefore, we should once again see plenty of goalmouth action at the Santiago Bernabéu.
The two teams' recent head-to-head record also suggests we're in for a goalfest. There have been five or more goals in four of the last six matches between these Spanish giants, although their most recent two clashes have produced three goals or fewer. The season before last, Villarreal and Real Madrid produced an eight-goal thriller - drawing 4-4 at the Estadi de la Ceràmica - on the penultimate matchday of the La Liga campaign.
It's also worth pointing out the volume of goals Real Madrid have both scored and conceded over the past ten days, with the 5-2 defeat to Atlético sandwiched between a 4-1 triumph over Levante and Tuesday's 5-0 victory in Kazakhstan.
Prediction: Over 3.5 Goals: @2 (bet365)
Explanation: This bet lands if four or more goals are scored in the match, regardless of the final result.
Kylian, 13 goals in 9 games for Madrid
Kylian Mbappé is already on his way to achieving legendary status at the Santiago Bernabéu, having found the net with unnerving regularity since joining Real Madrid in the summer of 2024. The Frenchman has registered a staggering 13 goals this term, while also scoring twice for his country. After firing home a second-half winner against Osasuna on the opening weekend, Mbappé bagged a brace in Los Blancos' 3-0 win over Oviedo at the Estadio Carlos Tartiere. He almost claimed another double straight after, but both of his goals in last month's meeting with Mallorca were ruled out for offside.
Further goals came during the international break as the 26-year-old star helped France put Ukraine and Iceland to the sword, before netting in each of Real Madrid's next six fixtures. This impressive sequence included another two braces - this time against Levante and Marseille - and a hat-trick in Tuesday's drubbing of the Kazakh champions. Consequently, Mbappé has scored at least two goals in four of his nine appearances this season.
Although Villarreal's expansive brand of football enables them to create plenty of chances, it also affords opponents the opportunity to exploit spaces in good attacking areas. Therefore, don't be surprised if Mbappé's name once again finds its way onto the scoresheet on multiple occasions....
Prediction: Kylian Mbappé to score 2+ goals: @3.1 (bet365)
Explanation: This bet will land if Mbappé scores two or more goals during the match.
Franco-Turk connection
Although Kylian Mbappé might be the main attraction, Arda Güler is also starting to steal one or two of the headlines. The Turkish youngster found himself out of favour during the reign of Carlo Ancelotti, but is now thriving under the tutelage of Xabi Alonso.
Güler claimed three goals and three assists in his first six La Liga starts, before setting up Real Madrid's (and Kylian Mbappé's third goal) against Kairat Almaty in midweek. In fact, all four of these assists have served Kylian Mbappé's goalscoring efforts, as the talented pair continue to develop their almost telepathic understanding of one another's movements.
If these two players can come together to build similar combinations to what we've seen in recent weeks, Villarreal could be in for an extremely tough night.
Explanation: This bet will land if Real Madrid win, Mbappé scores, and Arda Güler either scores or assists. All of these outcomes must materialise for this bet to be successful.
Real Madrid vs. Villarreal - Match Result odds
Odds, correct at the time of publication, are subject to change.
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