The clash between high-flying Real Madrid and utterly disappointing Villarreal should be a real no brainer, but one of the main reasons why football is so interesting is that the better team doesn’t always win.

Real Madrid have done well to recover from back to back slip ups against Levante and Racing Santander, having won next six games in all competitions, with los Blancos jumping over Barcelona in the standings after the impressive win over Malaga.

The 4:0 win over los Boquerones was fourth successive game in which los Merengues scored exactly four goals, and they are now 2.40 (7/5) with Sportingbet to score at least four against Villarreal as well.

Jose Mourinho is especially happy that the back line is also doing very well, conceding just one goal in last five games, but the Portuguese coach has few more reasons to feel optimistic before the Villarreal clash.

Nuri Sahin, Fabio Coentrao and Raul Albiol have all resumed training, meaning that Lassana Diarra and Ricardo Carvalho are the only absentees.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Casillas – Ramos, Pepe, Albiol, Marcelo – Alonso, Khedira – Di Maria, Ozil, Ronaldo – Benzema.

Villarreal did stay without Santi Cazorla and Joan Capdevila in the summer, but the absence of the duo cannot be an excuse for the shocking results this season.

The Yellow Submarine are largely struggling to fulfill their potential this term, having won just one of last eleven games in all competitions, and they desperately need a couple of good results in a row in order to return to the right track.

Coach Juan Carlos Garrido is under tremendous pressure following the 3:0 home defeat to surprise leaders Levante, so the game against Real Madrid definitely comes at a bad time.

The players are completely out of confidence after the terrible run of results, although a good result at Santiago Bernabeu could be just what they need to turn this season around. Double chance on Villarreal pays 6.50 (11/2) at William Hill.

Striker Nilmar remains sidelined, but Marcos Senna and Marco Ruben have recovered from injuries and are expected to start.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-2-1): Lopez – Zapata, Rodriguez, Marchena, Catala – Valero, Senna, Bruno – De Guzman, Cani – Rossi.