Who: Villarreal vs Real Madrid
What: Spanish La Liga
Where: Estadio de la Ceramica in Villarreal, Spain
When: Saturday, January 23, at 9pm (20:00 GMT).
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 17:00 GMT in advance of our text commentary stream.

Real Madrid will claim top spot in La Liga with a win on Saturday, but standing in their way are a plucky Villarreal that have their own ambitions for a title charge.

Los Blancos parted company with head coach Xabi Alonso on January 12, and suffered the immediate shock of a Copa del Rey exit at the hands of lowly Albacete in their very next game.

Moving above Barcelona, who do not play until they host Real Oviedo on Sunday, would be a serious statement for the Spanish giants, whose season appeared ready to lurch into freefall in recent months.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at Saturday’s match, where Villarreal will hope to add their own twist as they continue their plight as the season’s surprise package.

How have Real Madrid reversed the form book?

Real Madrid roared back to life this week, led by a superb Vinicius Junior, and will now seek to crush the threat of another title contender at the same time as they head to Spain’s east coast.

An emphatic 6-1 victory over Monaco on Tuesday in the Champions League helped brighten the gloom in the Spanish capital and earn new coach Alvaro Arbeloa a modicum of credit. Automatic qualification for the last 16 will be secured with a win in their final league phase match at Benfica on Wednesday.

The midweek match was the first glimpse of what his team might look like, after the Copa del Rey last 16 defeat against Albacete in his first match at the helm was the performance of a club deep in the doldrums.

Arbeloa’s second match, a win over Levante in La Liga last weekend, was marked by a monumental show of dissent from home fans, the shadow of which the team struggled to emerge from.

However, with the fans behind them again against Monaco, Madrid put in their best performance of the season, with Brazilian winger Vinicius offering a sensational display, in particular.

Why has Vinicius been struggling and why was he booed by Real Madrid fans?

After going 16 games in a row without finding the net, Vinicius has now scored two in his last four matches.

Beyond a delightful solo goal against Monaco, he was a persistent threat and played key parts in three more of his team’s strikes.

The performance silenced the boo boys in the stands and reminded everyone of the talent that was key to Real’s Champions League and La Liga double in 2024.

“I think he’s a player who thrives when he gets love,” said teammate Jude Bellingham. “He goes up leaps and bounds in his game and becomes so much more joyful to watch and to play with.

“I think that’s the pressure that the kind of whistles put on a player. But now it seems like he’s free from those shackles a little bit, and hopefully he can continue.”

What is Vinicius’s take on his form?

Vinicius himself admitted he needed the Bernabeu faithful by his side rather than on his back.

“We have to keep going and have the support of our fans so that everything returns to normal,” said the winger.

“We want to win, the fans want it, too, and if we stick together, we’re going to achieve great things this season.”

The winger ran over to hug his coach, Arbeloa, after scoring, after the Spaniard had defended him publicly over the last week.

“I saw the fans completely devoted to Vinicius, chanting his name … I said it the other day, he needs to feel loved by his people, he’s very emotional and he needs that affection,” said the coach.

Will Vinicius renew his Real Madrid contract?

Vinicius, who finished as runner-up in the Ballon d’Or rankings in 2024, has struggled for consistency ever since.

The 25-year-old’s contract at Madrid runs out in the summer of 2027, and for months, he has been in an apparent standoff with the club over renewing it.

In the days after his sizzling performance against Monaco, that situation seems to be slowly easing, too.

“Renewal talks are gathering pace. Despite a bruising week, the Brazilian knows that Real Madrid as an institution are firmly behind him,” wrote Spanish newspaper AS.

“Vinicius needed the backing of his own to rise from the ashes – and the embrace, first from his teammates and then from Alvaro Arbeloa, made that clear.”

Arbeloa has indicated from the beginning of his reign that a happy Vinicius will lead to a happy Madrid.

How have Villarreal fared in La Liga this season?

Marcelino Garcia Toral’s third-placed Villarreal are seven points behind Madrid and eight off champions Barca; a defeat would therefore virtually write off any chance of a first La Liga title.

Whatever the result on Saturday, though, it has been a remarkable run until now.

The east coast club lost only one of their first seven La Liga fixtures this season, winning five. A similar run would see them win six in a row from late October through early December – a ride that was ended by defeat at Barcelona.

Toral’s side bounced back to win their following two matches but they did suffer defeat in their last domestic outing, going down 2-0 at Real Betis last Saturday.

Estadio de la Ceramica has proven to be a fortress this season with eight wins, a draw and one defeat recorded at home, that in comparison with five wins, a draw and three defeats on the road.

How have Villarreal fared in the Champions League?

The exploits in Europe have not been as rewarding for Villarreal, with six defeats and a draw recorded in their seven games.

They finish the league phase of the Champions League at Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, but any hopes of reaching the next round have long since faded.

What happened the last time Villarreal played Real Madrid?

Real won the first meeting in La Liga this season 3-1 at Bernabeu on October 4.

Vinicius Junior netted two minutes in the second half to open the scoring, then doubled Real’s tally from the penalty spot with 20 minutes remaining.

Georges Mikautadze pulled one back for the away team but after Santiago Mourino saw red in the 77th minute, Kylian Mbappe soon after netted Real’s third to ensure the win.

Head-to-head

This will be the 55th meeting between the sides, with Real Madrid winning 31 of the encounters. Villarreal have emerged victorious on only six occasions.

Villareal team news

Willy Kambwala (hamstring), Logan Costa (knee), Pau Cabanes (knee), Santi Comesana (suspended) and Santiago Mourino (suspended) are all unavailable for the visit of Real.

Having played a much-changed lineup in the Champions League in midweek, head coach Marcelino is set to ring the changes and bring back a number of the star names, including Tajon Buchanan, Georges Mikautadze, Dani Parejo, Pau Navarro and Alfonso Pedraza.

Villarreal predicted starting lineup (4-4-2)

Junior; Navarro, Veiga, Foyth, Pedraza; Buchanan, Parejo, Gueye, Moleiro; Perez, Mikautadze

Real Madrid team news

Aurelien Tchouameni is suspended following his fifth booking of the season, which was picked up in last weekend’s 2-0 win against Levante.

Rodrygo has returned from injury and is set to start, while Brahim Diaz has returned from Morocco duty at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (thigh), Eder Militao (hamstring), Ferland Mendy (hamstring) and Antonio Rudiger (knee) all remain absent.

Real Madrid predicted starting lineup (4-3-3)

Courtois; Valverde, Huijsen, Asencio, Carreras; Guler, Camavinga, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius

Villareal and Real Madrid’s last five matches

Villarreal: W-L-L-W-W (most recent result last, all competitions)

Real Madrid: W-L-W-W-L (most recent result last, all competitions)

Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder and alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding has been arrested in Mexico and will be extradited to the US after years on the run, FBI Director Kash Patel has said.

Wedding, who had been on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, is accused of running a transnational drug trafficking operation that moved tonnes of cocaine across international borders.

Wedding, 44, was also wanted on murder charges. US officials had said they believed Wedding was living in Mexico under the Sinaloa drug cartel’s protection.

The head of Canada’s federal police force, which assisted in the investigation, spoke alongside Patel on Friday to praise the law enforcement operation.

“No single agency or nation can combat transnational organised crime alone,” said Mike Duheme, Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

“We can finally say that our communities, our countries, are much safer with the arrest of Ryan Wedding,” he added.

Wedding is expected to make his first court appearance on Monday.

Wedding is accused of running a vast drug trafficking operation responsible for importing some 60 metric tonnes of cocaine a year.

The organisation operated across North America, as well as several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and was also the largest supplier of cocaine to Canada, bringing in an estimated $1bn a year.

Before he was arrested, Wedding was accused of killing a federal witness in a case against him. Officials say he has also ordered the murders of several others.

Wedding is now facing a slew of felony charges, including witness tampering and intimidation, murder, money laundering and drug trafficking.

The FBI had previously placed a $15m (£11m) reward for information leading to his arrest. Patel declined to comment on whether anyone would be claiming the reward money.

US officials have not released any information regarding how Wedding was captured, except to say that his arrest took place on Thursday night in Mexico City.

The Associated Press, citing an unnamed Mexican Security Cabinet member, reported that Wedding turned himself in at the US embassy.

In his remarks at a news conference, Patel described Wedding as a “modern-day Pablo Escobar”, referring to the Colombian cartel leader. US officials have also compared him to Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán in Mexico.

“When you go after a guy like Ryan Wedding, it takes a united front,” Patel said, thanking Canadian and Mexican authorities for their help in the investigation.

Wedding’s aliases include “El Jefe,” “Giant,” “Public Enemy,” “James Conrad King,” and “Jesse King”, the FBI said. He has reportedly had plastic surgery to change his appearance while on the run.

Officials allege that he launched his criminal enterprise following his release from a US federal prison in 2011, where he was serving a sentence for cocaine distribution.

Authorities allege he has ordered dozens of murders across the globe, including in the US, Canada and Latin America.

Officials say he had been living in luxury in Mexico. In December, Mexican authorities announced that they had seized $40m in racing motorcycles owned by Wedding. They also seized other valuable items, including luxury paintings, artworks, drugs and two Olympic gold medals.

It is unclear to whom the medals belong. Wedding competed for Canada in the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, but did not win any medals. He came in 24th place in the men’s giant parallel slalom ski event.

In November, the FBI seized his rare 2002 Mercedes CLK-GTR, which had been valued at $13m.

Patel also spoke about the recent arrest of another man in Mexico who had been on the FBI’s most wanted list.

American man Alejandro Castillo was wanted for the murder of his ex-girlfriend. According to the FBI, he has been in hiding in Mexico for nearly 10 years, and will now be extradited back to North Carolina for trial.

Israeli social media figure Roi Star was filmed harassing and attacking activists who monitor Israeli settler assaults and activity in the occupied West Bank. Video shows him entering a house and pepper spraying activists during a confrontation.