Real Madrid: 5 players who must shine against Villarreal

Real Madrid’s last true test of the 2019-2020 La Liga season will occur on Thursday against Villarreal.

On Thursday night at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, Real Madrid will go up against one of the few teams they have not beaten in 2019-2020. Back in September, Los Blancos needed a brace from Gareth Bale to get a point out of their match against Villarreal, who are one of the top five teams in the league in mid-July.

Real will need to be at their best in order to get all three points this week and seal their 34th La Liga title. The good news is that they are a much better team right now than they were in early September when Zinedine Zidane was still molding the squad into something worthy of a title.

LB Ferland Mendy

Ferland Mendy has been one of Real Madrid’s best players in the last two games. He even scored a wondergoal against Granada, bursting past his defender with a clever touch and hitting a stunning finish past Rui Silva from a tight angle. It was a goal any striker would have been proud of.

Mendy will have a bigger test on Thursday night against Samuel Chukwueze, who is regarded as one of the best young wide players in Spanish football. Chukwueze will constantly look to push up into the attacking third and feed strikers Gerard Moreno and Paco Alcacer, who form one of the best duos in Europe.

A top-class signing by Zinedine Zidane this summer, Mendy will be up to the task of shutting down Chukwueze defensively and testing the experienced Mario Gaspar on the other side of the pitch. The former Lyon man has quickly become a crucial player for Los Blancos.