Real Madrid begin the weekend with a two point lead at the top of La Liga. They look for a sixth league win of the season, when hosting Villarreal who are unbeaten but only 11th. Real had another good win in midweek as they beat Mallorca at home 6-1. Asensio hit a hat-trick and Benzema two taking his total for the season to eight for the season in La Liga. With Invicius Jr also in good scoring form, Real have three players with 16 goals between them. In all, Real have 21 league goals this season, ten more than any other La Liga side. Their last four league games have all been won and they are now unbeaten in their last 12 home La Liga fixtures. 11 goals have been scored in the last two home matches and they've managed to score at least twice in eight of their last nine.
Villarreal have a big week ahead of them. After this game, they travel to Manchester United in the Champions League, a rematch of the Europa League final they won last season. Villarreal are yet to taste defeat in La Liga this season but have only won one match, the other four drawn. The first four had ended in stalemates with three of them being goalless. They finally got off the mark with a 4-1 home win over Elche. Before that they nearly won at Atletico Madrid but conceded a late goal. Only one of their last six away games in La Liga has been won. That includes the dramatic visit to Real Madrid in May of this year. Villarreal led going into the 87th minute but ended up losing 2-1, their third successive league defeat at Real. A fourth looks likely here, back Real to get the win and stay top.