Espanyol, often regarded as Barcelona’s “little brother,” is currently navigating a challenging phase in La Liga. After two spirited victories against Rayo Vallecano (2-1) and Deportivo Alavés (3-2), Espanyol’s dreams were crushed by Real Madrid. The 4-1 defeat was a comprehensive display of their limitations against top-tier opposition, as they were outclassed across the board.
Villarreal might not be as intense an opponent as Alavés or Rayo, but they remain challenging for Espanyol, especially considering that Real Betis is their next opponent.
Espanyol will be without Edu Exposito in the midfield and Calero in the defence, further complicating matters for the hosts.
Despite the 4-1 defeat against Real Madrid, Espanyol showed a good first half and capitalized on Real Madrid’s mistake before being outpaced by Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Jr. The lesson behind that match is that Espanyol needs to continue to apply pressure and tempo.
The narrative surrounding Villarreal this season has been one of dramatic highs and lows, embodying the essence of an emotional rollercoaster in La Liga.
Under the guidance of Marcelino, Villarreal was one of the last four unbeaten teams in the league, securing victories against Sevilla, Celta Vigo, and Mallorca, alongside commendable draws against Atlético de Madrid and Valencia.
However, their undefeated streak came to a halt against Flick’s Barcelona, as the Catalans steamrolled Villarreal 5-1 with a beautiful manita. A mistake by Eric Bailly gave Villarreal’s chances away, despite multiple attacks from Álex Baena, the young leader of the Yellow Submarine.
The team shouldn’t discourage Espanyol despite being the visitor once more. Espanyol is a team that lacks defenders in wide areas, which is an area for Villarreal’s full-backs to exploit.
Looking ahead, Villarreal shouldn’t be disheartened as they prepare to face Espanyol. Despite the setback in Barcelona, they remain a formidable side, currently ranked 6th in the league with eleven points – tied with Mallorca.
The upcoming match offers an opportunity for redemption and to climb back into the European qualification spots, especially as Atlético Madrid faces a challenging derby against Real Madrid.
Bet hereDespite hosting the match, Espanyol are hardly the favourite. Espanyol are fourteenth in La Liga and have conceded more goals than they have scored – a concern that Villarreal shares, although their goal differential wasn’t negative until their recent rout by Barcelona.
Espanyol will mostly need to focus on playing around Alvaro Aguado and Javi Puado, two of the team’s best performers in the attacking department. Exposito’s absence is a significant blow when it comes to Espanyol’s midfield stability.
Fortunately for Espanyol, Villarreal also ignored the concept of stability in their matches. The 4-3 thriller against Celta Vigo, as well as the 5-1 defeat against Barcelona shows that the Yellow Submarine ignores all principles of defending – and rather focuses on the attack.
For that reason, the game shouldn’t be taken lightly for Villarreal, as Espanyol pressured the great Real Madrid for a good part of the match as well.
Villarreal still is waiting for Juna Foyth, Gerard Moreno, Willy Kambwala to recover, while Alfonso Pedraza is still doubtful for the clash. The injury of Kambwala is particularly problematic for Marcelino, who is forced to trust Bailly instead.
One thing unites these two teams: their inability to maintain a rest defence that guarantees clean sheets.
Villarreal’s defence has been chaotic since Unai Emery left, while Espanyol was just promoted, which means that the individual quality of their defenders is hardly surprising.
Moreover, Villarreal’s mid-block is likely to find the solutions ahead of Espanyol’s backline, which only gets worse considering Agaudo’s lack of consistency thus far.
Dani Parejo, Baena and Yeremy Pino are all outlets that could overwhelm Espanyol’s lack of rigidity as a defensive block, a problem Villarreal cannot relate to. Marcelino built everything around his counter-attacking Yellow Submarine.
Considering the defensive weaknesses of both teams and Villarreal’s strength in transitions, a prudent bet would be on both teams to score.
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