Can Villarreal’s fine run of form propel them to a first-ever LaLiga title?

Could six successive league wins for Villarreal be the start of bringing an end to the four-year stranglehold that Barcelona and Real Madrid have had on the LaLiga title?

In-form Villarreal sit in third position in the LaLiga standings with 35 points from 11 matches (W11, D2, L2), trailing leaders and defending champions Barcelona by five.

Villarreal are on the top of their game in LaLiga

Putting Marcelino García Toral’s side’s form this season into the spotlight, they are eight points ahead of Espanyol, who are the nearest Champions League qualification challengers to the Yellow Submarine.

That successful run was purely on the domestic front, not on European shores. Villarreal have experienced an ongoing nightmare across the 2025/26 Champions League phase, losing five of their six matches (D1), which has resulted in their elimination from this season’s competition.

That actually might play into the hands of Toral’s men, with their attention now solely on going one better than finishing runner-ups to Real Madrid in the 2007/08 campaign.

Villarreal finished fifth last season, behind Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, and Athletic Bilbao with 70 points.

However, the Yellow Submarine have already fired an early warning shot at their adversaries by accumulating half of those points after only 15 matches of the season.

Villarreal have expertly reinvested after a summer of exits

Despite selling close to £90million worth of attacking talent in the last transfer window, Villarreal have expertly reinvested. Álex Baena, Yéremy Pino, and Thierno Barry departed the Estadio de la Cerámica this summer, but Georges Mikautadze, Alberto Moleiro, and Taion Buchanan et al. have compensated for those losses. Alongside a Villarreal Hall of Famer (HOF), still simply making age look like a number.

New additions Moleiro (G6, A2) and Buchanan (G5, A1) have fired Villarreal into their current domestic position, while captain and HOF Gerard Moreno has four goals in seven league appearances.

Briefly touching on Moreno, the Yellow Submarine’s 33 year old luminary has made over 300 appearances for the club, scoring 124 goals and contributing 49 assists. However, it’s hard to explain what has negatively occurred on the continent for the club this year, but does it now really matter?

On the defensive front, Villarreal have conceded a LaLiga-low 13 goals across 2025/26, with Real Madrid, Atlético, and Alavés next in that department with a triple-venture of 15.

Last season, the Yellow Submarine conceded 51 goals, so the early-season blockade signals potential success at the end of the current campaign. Luiz Júnior and a solid, interchangeable defensive unit consisting of Pau Navarro, Juan Foyth, Renato Veiga, Sergi Cardona, Alfonso Pedraza, and Rafa Marín have shut out most sides this season.

Are Villarreal good enough to compete head-to-head with the big boys?

Villarreal were beaten 3-1 by second-placed Real Madrid in October this year, in addition to losing 2-0 to Atletico Madrid in September.

They are yet to play Barcelona this season, with their much-awaited clash due to be played just four days before Christmas.

However, they have overcome fifth-placed Espanyol 2-0, drawn 2-2 with sixth-placed Real Betis, and beaten Athletic Club 1-0.

Lonely Levante will be relying on José Morales

Villarreal travel to newly-promoted Levante on Sunday, expected to take three points back to the Estadio de la Cerámica, considering their hosts are rock bottom of LaLiga.

Levante’s two wins from 15 matches sound like an easy away day, but Villarreal lost their last home head-to-head encounter 2-0 in April 2022 courtesy of Morales’ brace. Morales will indeed be back for more, but significantly, the Spaniard has only found the back of the net once in LaLiga this season.

Villarreal were left licking their wounds at the Estadio de la Cerámica on Wednesday as Andreas Cornelius scored a 90th-minute goal to secure a 3-2 win for Copenhagen.

But, as mentioned, the 2025/26 Champions League phase campaign will soon be a decent memory for a side unbeaten in their previous seven league matches – W6, D1.