Real Madrid vs. Villarreal: Team News, Preview, Live Stream and TV Info

So, here we are then. No one expected this, did they?

Well, no one other than Gareth Bale. 

"You never know," said Bale in the aftermath of Real Madrid's 2-1 victory over Barcelona in the recent Clasico, "football does funny things to teams when you lose and you never know what could happen. All they [Barcelona] need is a few bad results, we need a few good ones and we're right back in it."

At the time, the Welshman's comment felt unnaturally optimistic, fanciful even. Now, though, it looks prophetic. 

Since Bale uttered those words, Barcelona have fallen in a hole, while Madrid have surged. When Gerard Pique put his side ahead in the Clasico, the Catalans led Madrid in La Liga by 13 points and Atletico by nine. Then Madrid hit back and won, and they have continued doing so since. Atletico have done the same. But Barcelona still haven't recovered; two more defeats have followed. 

Suddenly, then, we have a title race. With five games to play, the table reads Barcelona 76 points, Atletico 76 and Madrid 75. Luis Enrique's men own the head-to-head advantage over both of their rivals, but this is now tight in a way few had foreseen, and on Wednesday, a trio of fixtures that once looked inconsequential are now big. Massive, actually. 

At 8 p.m. (local time), Barcelona will begin their clash with Deportivo La Coruna at Riazor; 45 minutes later, Atletico will tackle Athletic Bilbao at San Mames; not long after, Madrid will meet Villarreal at the Bernabeu. 

It's looks tasty. Due to a TV-fixated schedule with eight-to-nine weekend time slots, rarely in La Liga do we get this where games unfold at the same time and the complexion of everything changes by the minute. But here, in this midweek round, we will. 

When Atletico begin at San Mames, Barcelona will have reached half-time against Depor. When Madrid kick off at the Bernabeu, Barcelona will be done but Atleti will still be in battle. The way it is set to unfold is intriguing as well, each game bigger than the last. More difficult, too. 

Indeed, Madrid's meeting with Villarreal in the evening's final kick-off looks the most testing of the three.

Holding a six-point edge over Athletic and Celta Vigo, Marcelino's men are well on-track for grabbing the final Champions League place, needing perhaps just two more wins from five to seal it. What's more, Villarreal have a fine record against La Liga's giants this season, having taken four points from six against Atletico, three from three against Madrid and another point from Barcelona. 

Still, though, this might be a good time for Madrid to get the Valencians. 

On the back of their 6-3 aggregate win over Sparta Prague in the Europa League quarter-finals, and in drawing Liverpool in the semis, Villarreal's priorities might be elsewhere at this moment. Injuries won't help, either. 

"It's not the best time for us to go and get our first win at the Bernabeu, but that's football," admitted Marcelino on Monday. "We have a few problems when it comes to choosing players as we've got so many injuries, [and] we are going to play our third match in six days."

The injuries he alluded to are those of Roberto Soldado, Juame Costa, Samu Castillejo and Tomas Pina. Even so, Villarreal's impressive depth can cover it, and as they showed earlier in the season, they have a method that can thwart Madrid: tight defending, two disciplined lines of four and swift, lethal, four- and-five-man counter-attacking waves.

"It's difficult to find a way to beat them," said Zinedine Zidane of Wednesday's opponents. Yet, the Frenchman was prepared the acknowledge the shifting mood that has surrounded his team but warned: "We haven't won anything."

They haven't. 

Wednesday could have a major say in whether they do. 

Match Details

Date: Wednesday, April 20

Time: 9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. EDT/10 p.m. local

Venue: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

TV Info: Sky Sports (UK), beIN Sports (U.S.)

Live Stream: Sky Go (UK), beIN Sports Connect (U.S.)

Form Lines

Real Madrid	Villarreal
W: 5-1 vs. Getafe	L: 1-2 vs. Rayo Vallecano
W: 3-0 vs. Wolfsburg	W: 4-2 vs. Sparta Prague
W: 4-0 vs. Eibar	W:2-0 vs. Getafe
L: 0-2 vs. Wolfsburg	W:2-0 vs. Sparta Prague
W: 2-1 vs. Barcelona	W:2-1 vs. Eibar
W: 4-0 vs. Sevilla	D: 2-2 vs. Barcelona

Team News

For Real Madrid, Danilo returns from suspension for this clash and will step in at right-back for Dani Carvajal, who has been left out of the 19-man squad due to injury. Danilo will likely be part of a back four also featuring Sergio Ramos, Pepe and Marcelo. 

In midfield, it's likely that Zidane will opt for his preferred trio of Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Casemiro, after resting the latter two against Getafe while awarding starts to James Rodriguez and Isco. 

James, however, could feature in attack, with Gareth Bale also set to be missing due to a muscular injury. If so, the Colombian will start on the right of the front three alongside Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo. 

For Villarreal, Antonio Rukavina returns from suspension and should resume at full-back alongside fellow defenders Victor Ruiz, Eric Bailly and Mario. 

In midfield, Bruno also returns from suspension and will slot into the central pairing alongside Manu Trigueros, with Tomas Pina expected to sit this one out. 

Out wide, meanwhile, Denis Suarez and Jonathan Dos Santos are likely to be Marcelino's preferences, while Leo Baptistao could join Cedric Bakambu up front given the injury to striker Roberto Soldado. 

Predicted Lineups

B/R UK

In the Spotlight

Odds (via Odds Shark)

Real Madrid: 2-9

Draw: 6-1

Villarreal: 10-1