EXCLUSIVE Real Madrid might be on the ropes under new boss Alvaro Arbeloa – and one star has admitted they’re “pretty confident” of beating Los Blancos
Real Madrid, Spanish football’s grand old giant, find themselves at a crossroads.
Los Blancos’ midweek demolition of Monaco might have papered over the cracks, but the wider picture is less than convincing. An unconvincing win over Levante and a Copa del Ray exit against minnows Albacete has left the Bernabeu a little uneasy.
Their mid-season blip has been compounded by upheaval in the dugout. Xabi Alonso is gone, with Alvaro Arbeloa thrust into the hot seat as Real are desperately clinging desperately to Barcelona’s coattails in La Liga. And Villarreal, who sit third, can smell blood.
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The Yellow Submarine, who have a game in hand, have the chance to close the gap on Saturday evening when they welcome Real to a buoyant Estadio de la Cerámica – with the chance to tighten the vice.
Ayoze Perez, once of Leicester and Newcastle on these shores, told Daily Star Sport: “We’re pretty confident, to be honest, because we’re in good momentum and a good dynamic.
“At this point, you reach a place where you go out to play against whoever it is and you feel like you can get the win.”
Villarreal are within touching distance of the famous pair, sitting seven points them, but they have a game in hand and the potential to take points off Real on Saturday.
Perez added: “Obviously, the squad is in a great place right now – the table shows that. It’s not a definitive game that says everything about how the season will finish, but it is an important one.
“We play at home, and we can get slightly closer. So it’s not a final – there are still plenty of games to go – but it’s definitely a very important match.
“You can get closer, you can gain a lot of confidence ahead of what comes next.
“And it can put us in a position where we’re close enough to make them a little uncomfortable, especially with a game in hand and plenty still to play.”
For LALIGA fans in the UK, Villarreal vs Real Madrid is available to watch exclusively live on Saturday night (8pm kick off) via Disney+