The referee in charge of directing the clash will be Javier Alberola Rojas and will be assisted in the VAR by David Medié Jiménez.
In the visitors, Nicolas Jackson will not be available due to suspension, Gerard Moreno due to physical discomfort, nor will Coquelin, who will miss the remainder of the season due to a torn cruciate ligament.
The only player Ancelotti will not be able to count on will be Ferland Mendy, who is out due to a muscle injury in his left soleus that will take him away from the pitch for a few weeks.
For his part, Villarreal’s Cantabrian coach spoke about how difficult it is to work on a match like this due to the level and possibilities of the rival: “You never know what is better or worse against Madrid. It is a team different from all the others. With Madrid, it is always indecipherable. You don’t know what their reactions will be, your moments to hurt them. It is difficult to prepare for a match like this”.
Despite how complicated the domestic competition is for the meringues, the Italian coach did not rule it out at a press conference and said that they were going to fight it to the end: “Until the mathematics condemn us, we will continue”
Setién’s team arrives at the game with the need to win to remain fully involved in the fight to enter the next UEFA Champions League, while Ancelotti’s men, with the league almost sentenced for Barcelona, will seek to maintain the good state of form ahead of next Wednesday’s game against Chelsea in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
The Whites and the Groguets met for the last time in the round of 16 of the KO competition back in January, in a vibrant game in which Madrid won 2-3. The submarine went into half-time with a two-goal lead, but a stellar Ceballos led the madridistas in the comeback that he culminated in the final minutes of the game.
For its part, the yellow submarine also arrives in a good dynamic. In their last two games, against Osasuna and Real Sociedad, Quique Setién’s team won 0-3 and 2-0 respectively, thus increasing their streak in LaLiga Santander, a competition in which they have not lost since matchday 22.
The whites arrive with unbeatable feelings after certifying their place in the final of the Copa del Rey after coming back from their greatest rival, FC Barcelona. The madridistas put on an authentic display and thrashed the culés 4-0 at the Spotify Camp Nou with a goal from Vini Jr and a hat-trick from Karim Benzema.
The previous time that Villarreal visited the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium It was on matchday 7 of the league last season, in a fairly even game that ended in a goalless draw that both teams knew little about.
Welcome to the broadcast of the clash between Real Madrid and Villarreal CF.