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Real Madrid take on Villarreal at 22:00 in an 8th-round La Liga encounter. The two sides face off at the Santiago Bernabéu in the Spanish capital, where Jose Mourinho's men will look to return to winning ways after slipping to a 2-1 defeat against city rivals Atletico Madrid prior to the international break, dropping down to fourth place in the standings.
Villarreal have had an inconsistent campaign, enduring a three-match losing streak before bouncing back with victories over Malaga and Levante to climb up to ninth. The Yellow Submarine have accumulated eight points so far, with the majority of their tally interestingly coming on the road.
The major headline in Real Madrid's starting eleven sees Vinicius Junior drop to the bench, with Yan Diomande stepping in to feature alongside Arda Guler and Jude Bellingham in support of Kylian Mbappe. The French forward has fully recovered from injury and earns an expected start. Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni partner up in central midfield, while the back four shielding Thibaut Courtois consists of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Antonio Rudiger, and Alvaro Carreras.
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