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Real Madrid almost always expects to win. A loss is unforgivable and draws are tolerable at best. It's a difficult gig to endear yourself to the board, the fans, and the players at the same time, but Zinedine Zidane did it in his first stint, and he's back for a repeat.
It's not the worst start for them, but performances have been less convincing than the results. Even as they go to Villareal who have only got one point from 2 games, they will be wary.
Perhaps more worrying for Villareal than the single point is the fact that they have conceded six goals in two games, the worst defensive record in the league so far. In the opener against Granada, they led four times, only to allow the opposition claw their way back into the game each time, settling for a point.
In the second game, they scored within the first five minutes but would concede two penalties in the second half to return home empty-handed from Levante. Villareal will want to stop the rot early and nip this worrying trend in the bud, especially against Real Madrid who can punish them.
Zidane's revolution
When Zidane returned to Real Madrid last term, he promised a revolution after catastrophic failure in the Champions League and LaLiga. So far, there have been signs in the summer transfer window, with big names such as Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic, and Ferland Mendy all brought in.
However, the French boss' revolution has been stopped in its tracks by so many injuries. Hazard and Mendy are both a few weeks away from fitness, Real Madrid lost Asensio to an ACL injury in pre-season, and Isco recently joined the list of injured stars.
Due to this, the side we're seeing on the pitch is more or less the same one we saw last season. It's still a strong side, but one with the flaws of last season.
The key will be for Zidane to find a way to win while he fine-tunes this team and waits for reinforcements to arrive. Could they win against Villareal even with all the issues? They should, but it won't be straightforward.
The yellow submarine is as equipped to score as they are poor at the back, so regardless of the winner, in the end, it should be a goal-fest.
Match prediction: Villareal 2-3 Real Madrid
