Real Madrid host Villarreal with recent record firmly in their favour
Real Madrid return to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on matchday 8 of La Liga to face Villarreal, a fixture in which they have won four of the last five meetings. The hosts arrive with a slightly better recent record across their last five matches, having won three to Villarreal's two.
Mixed recent form
Real Madrid's run of LWWWL shows a side capable of stringing together wins but also prone to the odd slip, including their most recent defeat. Villarreal's WWLLL sequence tells a story of a team that has lost its last three matches after opening with a pair of victories, leaving them chasing a response on the road.
A fixture Real Madrid have controlled
The head-to-head history favours the hosts heavily. Villarreal's sole success in the last five encounters was a 4-4 draw in May 2024, while Real Madrid have won every other meeting since, including a 3-1 victory at the Bernabéu in October 2025 and a 2-0 win in the corresponding fixture the year before. The most recent meeting, in January 2026, ended 2-0 to Real Madrid in Villarreal.
With both sides looking to arrest recent dips in form, Sunday's encounter offers Villarreal a chance to break a troubling pattern against one of the league's most consistent opponents, while Real Madrid will look to use home advantage to continue their recent superiority in the fixture.