Villarreal vs Real Madrid: LaLiga clash to see guard of honour
A year on from Barcelona's guard of honour snub, Villarreal will mark Real Madrid's Club World Cup win in Thursday's postponed LaLiga clash.
Villarreal will mark Real Madrid's 2018 Club World Cup win by giving Los Blancos a pre-match guard of honour when the teams meet in Thursday evening's rearranged LaLiga clash (21:30 CET).
LaLiga match postponed because of Club World Cup
The sides' week-17 fixture at the Estadio de la Cerámica was rescheduled because of Madrid's participation in December's tournament in the United Arab Emirates, where the European champions claimed a third consecutive world title with final victory over hosts Al Ain.
Barcelona refused after Real Madrid's 2017 win
In the wake of Madrid's Club World Cup win last season, Barcelona sparked controversy by refusing to give their arch rivals a guard of honour in the sides' LaLiga Clásico at the Bernabéu seven days later, with the Blaugrana's director of institutional relations, Guillermo Amor, arguing that the gesture should only apply to competitions that "we have also taken part in".
When Barça then hosted Madrid in May having already sealed the LaLiga title, the visitors also opted against paying tribute to their opponents' achievement, in retaliation for the Catalans' earlier snub.
Villarreal vs Real Madrid: live coverage on AS English
You'll be able to follow all the action from La Cerámica with our live, minute-by-minute coverage as Santiago Solari's fourth-placed team look to move within five points of leaders Barça.
