Real Madrid vs Villarreal: Kylian Mbappé's knee, and a Real Madrid defence without Dean Huijsen
By Margus Sellin · · 5 min
La Liga · Matchday 8
Real Madrid
Villarreal
- Kick-off
- Venue
- Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
Our call: Real Madrid win 3–1
Ayoze Pérez against a Real Madrid back line without Dean Huijsen, and a Villarreal defence that has conceded in nine of its last ten games, friendlies included.
Logged 8 Oct, 09:30 CEST, never edited. We'll mark this call after full time.
In 30 seconds
- Dean Huijsen is suspended after his red card in the derby on Sun 20 Sep, and Raúl Asencio has had surgery, so Mourinho is short of centre-backs.
- Kylian Mbappé hurt his knee with France on Fri 25 Sep and is a doubt. He has 9 of Real Madrid's 24 goals in their last ten games.
- Villarreal will score at the Bernabéu, and it still will not be enough.
The story
Kylian Mbappé hurt his left knee scoring for France on Fri 25 Sep, and whether he starts on Sat 10 Oct is the first question at the Bernabéu. The second is behind him: Real Madrid have lost two centre-backs since Sun 20 Sep, and José Mourinho, back at the club since the summer, has to fill that hole. Dean Huijsen was sent off in the derby at the Metropolitano, a yellow card turned red after a VAR review for the foul that gave Atlético their penalty, and Real lost 2–1. The one-match ban falls on this game. Raúl Asencio has had surgery on his shin, Éder Militão has only just returned to training and Ibrahima Konaté withdrew injured from the France squad. Mourinho has to rebuild the middle of his back four, and Aurélien Tchouaméni is reported as one option to drop back from midfield.
Iñigo Pérez, in his first season at Villarreal after leaving Rayo Vallecano, has a side that has found its feet. Villarreal lost four in a row, at home to Deportivo La Coruña and Real Betis and away at Alavés and Dortmund, then won 3–1 at Málaga and 3–1 at home to Levante. They score: 18 goals in their last ten games. They also concede, and that is where we think this goes Real Madrid's way.
| Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Barcelona | 7 | +24 | 21 |
| 2Atlético Madrid | 7 | +9 | 16 |
| 3Real Betis | 7 | +2 | 16 |
| 4Real Madrid | 7 | +10 | 15 |
| 5Sevilla | 7 | +1 | 13 |
| 6Alavés | 7 | +5 | 11 |
| 7Deportivo La Coruña | 7 | +2 | 10 |
| 8Real Sociedad | 7 | -4 | 10 |
| 9Villarreal | 7 | +1 | 8 |
Top nine of 20. OddsIntel match database, read 6 Oct 2026.
Real Madrid are fourth, six points behind Barcelona; Villarreal are ninth. Roma in the Champions League, on Wed 14 Oct, comes next for Real.
Form
Latest →
Real Madrid
- 20 SepL1–2at ATMLL
- 15 SepW3–2at ELCLL
- 12 SepW4–1v RAYLL
- 8 SepW2–1v INTUCL
- 4 SepL0–1at RBBLL
Both defeats came away from home. At the Bernabéu they beat Inter and Rayo.
Villarreal
- 20 SepW3–1v LEVLL
- 17 SepW3–1at MALLL
- 14 SepL1–2v RBBLL
- 8 SepL2–3at BVBUCL
- 5 SepL2–3v DEPLL
Two wins after four defeats in a row, and a goal in each of these five games.
Latest on the left. LL = La Liga, UCL = Champions League. OddsIntel match database, read 6 Oct 2026.
Team news
Real Madrid
- OutDean Huijsen: one-match ban for his red card in the derby. Mourinho loses the centre-back who started there.(reported)
- OutRaúl Asencio: surgery on a stress fracture of his right shin, announced by the club. Another centre-back gone.
- DoubtfulKylian Mbappé: left knee, hurt scoring for France on Fri 25 Sep; back at the training ground on Tue 6 Oct.(reported)
- DoubtfulIbrahima Konaté: withdrew injured from the France squad. If he is fit, Real have a recognised centre-back in the middle.(reported)
- DoubtfulÉder Militão: training again after a long hamstring injury. No official game since April.(reported)
Villarreal
- DoubtfulSanti Comesaña: ankle injury, still training apart from the group. Gueye and Saliba started in midfield against Levante.(reported)
Line-ups: confirmed about an hour before kick-off. They'll go under Updates. We don't publish guessed XIs.
Checked Wed 7 Oct 21:10 CEST: Real Madrid's medical reports and LaLiga's match log, beIN Sports, iusport, Bernabéu Digital, ESPN and FútbolFantasy. Marca, AS and Mundo Deportivo could not be read. Reported = not yet confirmed by the club.
Two scorers missing from the last line-ups are not injured. Carlos Espí, with 3 of Real's goals in their last ten games, has been Mourinho's striker off the bench. Georges Mikautadze was on the bench for the Levante game on Sun 20 Sep and scored Villarreal's third after coming on (both reported).
Villarreal 4-2-3-1 · v Levante, 20 Sep
- Gulácsi
- FreemanNavarroVeigaCardona
- GueyeSaliba
- AkhomachMoleiroBuchanan
- Pérez (key battle)
- Mbappé
- ViníciusBellinghamGüler
- Tchouaméni (key battle)Valverde
- CucurellaHuijsenKonatéDumfries
- Courtois
Real Madrid 4-2-3-1 · v Atlético Madrid, 20 Sep
Both last XIs on a pitch
Villarreal 4-2-3-1 · v Levante, 20 Sep
- Gulácsi
- FreemanNavarroVeigaCardona
- GueyeSaliba
- AkhomachMoleiroBuchanan
- Pérez (key battle)
- Mbappé
- ViníciusBellinghamGüler
- Tchouaméni (key battle)Valverde
- CucurellaHuijsenKonatéDumfries
- Courtois
Real Madrid 4-2-3-1 · v Atlético Madrid, 20 Sep
Who to watch
The duel to watch: Ayoze Pérez against whoever Mourinho plays in the middle of his back four. Ayoze leads the line and has 2 of Villarreal's goals in their last ten games. If Tchouaméni is the one moved back, Real lose their screen in midfield as well as a natural defender, and the space in front of the defence gets bigger.
Real Madrid
Jude Bellingham
Plays behind the striker and has 3 goals in Real's last ten, level with Espí; with Mbappé a doubt, more of the scoring falls to him.
- 3
- goals, Real Madrid's last 10
Villarreal
Pape Gueye
A holding midfielder with 3 goals in Villarreal's last ten, and the man Bellingham will run past or into.
- 3
- goals, Villarreal's last 10
Goals in each side's last ten games, all competitions. OddsIntel match database, read 6 Oct 2026.
Head-to-head
Real Madrid have won the last four meetings. Villarreal's best result in the five is the 4–4 in May 2024.
Result for Real Madrid
- 24 Jan 2026Villarreal v Real MadridLa Liga, Villarreal0–2W
- 4 Oct 2025Real Madrid v VillarrealLa Liga, Madrid3–1W
- 15 Mar 2025Villarreal v Real MadridLa Liga, Villarreal1–2W
- 5 Oct 2024Real Madrid v VillarrealLa Liga, Madrid2–0W
- 19 May 2024Villarreal v Real MadridLa Liga, Villarreal4–4D
The last five meetings. OddsIntel match database, read 6 Oct 2026.
Numbers that matter
Goals scored: Real Madrid 24.0, Villarreal 18.0 (higher is better)
Both sides score freely.
Goals conceded · fewer is better: Real Madrid 9.0, Villarreal 16.0 (lower is better)
Villarreal's defence is the weaker half of this game, even against a patched-up Real attack.
Clean sheets: Real Madrid 3.0, Villarreal 1.0 (higher is better)
Villarreal's only one came in a pre-season friendly.
Last ten games each, all competitions, two pre-season friendlies included for each side. OddsIntel match database, read 6 Oct 2026.
Our call, explained
We have Real Madrid winning 3–1. Without Huijsen and with a makeshift centre-back pairing, we expect Villarreal to find a goal, most likely through Ayoze Pérez or Alberto Moleiro running at that gap. Real Madrid won all four of their home games in their last ten and scored at least twice in each, so even without Mbappé we see enough in Bellingham and the bench to score three.
Where this could go wrong. If Mbappé misses out and Real look as blunt as they did in their 0–1 at Betis, Villarreal are good enough on the break to take a point, or more. The other way, a Real side with Mbappé fit and Konaté back could run away with it. If we're wrong about the winner, a draw is likelier than a Villarreal win.
Updates
Nothing has changed since we published. Next: confirmed line-ups, about an hour before kick-off, and the latest on Mbappé and Konaté.
Data note: results, scorers, the table and line-ups from our database (API-Football), read 6 Oct 20:10 UTC; team news and match details from Real Madrid, LaLiga, beIN Sports, iusport, Bernabéu Digital, ESPN, FotMob and FútbolFantasy.