Mourinho's grip and Mbappé's fire: Real Madrid prepare to subdue Villarreal
Submarines' awakening in the face of the Bernabéu storm
The Santiago Bernabéu takes centre stage this Saturday as Real Madrid host Villarreal in the eighth round of La Liga. The numbers around this one are striking: the hosts' historic dominance, their red-hot attack, and the visitors chasing more of their revival.
Stats network "Opta" picked out the most notable figures and facts ahead of the clash, and here's how they stack up.
- Madrid superiority: Real Madrid are unbeaten in their last 6 league meetings with Villarreal, winning five and drawing one. They've also won their last 4 in a row, their best run since October 2011, when they strung together 5 straight victories.
- Bernabéu strength: Six home league wins on the bounce for Real Madrid, who have scored 4 goals in each of their last four matches. That's something they hadn't managed since February 2016.
- A relatively faltering start: Two defeats in the first 7 rounds of the 2026-2027 season leave Real Madrid matching their tally from the same stage of 2014-2015, when Carlo Ancelotti was in charge.
- The Mourinho hoodoo: José Mourinho has never lost in his four La Liga meetings with Villarreal, winning three and drawing one. At home he won both games he played, scoring 7 and conceding just two.
- Mbappé shines: Kylian Mbappé has 5 goals in 4 La Liga matches against Villarreal. The only side he's scored more against is Real Sociedad, whose net he's rippled 7 times.
- A negative record for the visitors: Villarreal have lost 18 of 26 away league matches against Real Madrid, winning twice and drawing six. That's the most defeats they've suffered against a single opponent on the road in the competition's history.
- Villarreal's revival: Winless through their first 5 rounds with two draws and 3 defeats, Villarreal have since won their last two. They'll want to keep that run going, bettered only by a stretch of 6 straight wins between October and December 2025.
- An attack creating chances: Villarreal boast the third highest expected goals in the league this season at 16.5, trailing only Barcelona (28.5) and Real Madrid (18.5). Yet they've found the net just 13 times, falling 3.5 goals short of what their chances suggest.
- Molero writes history: Alberto Molero scored and set up two more against Levante last time out. At 22 years and 355 days, he became the youngest Spanish player in Villarreal's history to have a hand in 3 goals in a single league match since Álex Baena in April 2024.
- Villarreal's coach faces a difficult challenge: Íñigo Pérez has yet to beat Real Madrid, drawing three and losing two of his 5 league meetings with them. It's the same winless record he holds against Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, albeit with different results.
