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Villarreal (17-6-13) at Real Madrid (25-8-3)
La Liga Soccer: Thursday July 16, 2020 at 3:00 PM (Alfredo di Stefano Stadium)
The Line: Real Madrid -240 / Draw +385 / Villarreal +600 -- O/U: 3 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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Real Madrid takes on Villarreal in La Liga soccer action from the Alfredo di Stefano Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
Real Madrid comes into this match looking to lock up the La Liga title with a win, sitting atop the table on 83 points with a record of 25 wins, 8 draws and 3 losses following a 9th straight win in the form of a 2-1 win over Granada in their last match. In the win over Granada, Ferland Mendy gave Madrid the lead in the 10th minute and Karim Benzema would double Madrid’s lead just six minutes after that. Madrid’s lead would hold into the second half and Granada would pull a goal back in the 50th, but that’s as close as Granada would get as Real rode the 2-1 lead to the finish line. Benzema leads Real Madrid in scoring with 19 goals along with 8 assists while Sergio Ramos has 10 goals this season. Thibaut Courtois is Real Madrid’s leading goalkeeper, conceding just 0.55 goals per 90 minutes this season.
Villarreal on the other hand, come into this match in 5th place on 57 points with a record of 17 wins, 6 draws and 13 losses following a 2-1 loss to Real Sociedad last time out. In the loss to Sociedad, the first half saw no scoring and three bookings, two of which went the way of Villarreal. Real Sociedad would take the lead in the 61st minute and would put Villarreal 2-0 down in the 75th. Santi Cazorla pulled a goal back for Villarreal in the 85th minute, but in the end it wouldn’t be enough as Villarreal would end up empty-handed at full time. Gerard Moreno leads Villarreal in scoring with 16 goals with 5 assists while Santi Cazorla hs 11 goals and a team-high 8 assists this season. Sergio Asenjo is Villarreal’s top goalkeeper, conceding 1.12 goals per 90 minutes with 11 clean sheets in 33 league appearances this season.
The heavy plus money is tempting considering that Villarreal have been one of the better teams in La Liga since the restart. However, Real Madrid can clinch the title with a win here and as much as I like the odds, I think Real don’t want to leave this game to chance. I’ll side with real to win but to get the price down, since I think Villarreal put up a fight, I’ll add on the both teams to score option to get double my money.
Chris’s Pick Real Madrid to win & Both Teams to Score (+200)
AUTHOR: Chris Ruffolo
