Real Madrid have a massive game coming up on Saturday at the Estadio de la Ceramica against Villarreal, but here are three advantages they have.
This Saturday, Real Madrid will hit the road for their second game at the Estadio de la Ceramica of the 2020-2021 season. Earlier this year, they defeated a very game Levante side at the stadium, and, now, they must face a much greater challenge in second-placed Villarreal.
The Yellow Submarine are led by manager Unai Emery, who has experience winning trophies with highly competitive La Liga sides at Sevilla. Villarreal also have a very impressive Real Madrid loanee in Takefusa Kubo, who already flashed his potential against his parent club earlier this year for Mallorca.
Real Madrid sit behind Villarreal in the table, but there are three key advantages they have over the home side.
Real Madrid have Thibaut Courtois in goal
With all due respect to Sergio Asenjo, who is a fine La Liga goalkeeper, Los Blancos have a real advantage here that could carry them to a tough road victory.
Thibaut Courtois has kept Real Madrid in so many games this season, and it’s really a disservice to look at the clean sheets instead of the play on the pitch. The Belgian standout has been wonderful again in 2020-2021, just as he was last season when he led the league in clean sheets as the Zamora Trophy winner.
He is one of only two goalkeepers in the league with a save percentage of at least 75 percent who plays for a team with more than one goal allowed per match. Courtois has been let down by his defense this season.
But his shot-stopping will be critical against Villarreal. Courtois will be going up against two of the league’s best strikers in Gerard Moreno and Paco Alcacer, who have a combined nine league goals. Moreno has been one of the league’s best players for a few years now.
That said, Courtois can stand tall against them. If he has a shutdown game, it might not matter how good Villarreal’s attack is.