Villarreal started the season brightly but suffered a heavy home defeat to FC Barcelona in the last round (1:5). Espanyol, in turn, lost significantly to Real Madrid (1:4). Which of the teams will manage to bounce back and please their fans?
Starting with the hosts, Espanyol had an unsuccessful start to the season, but after two defeats, the team drew and won two matches. Of course, the opponents were not the toughest, but they then faced Real Madrid, where the Catalonian side suffered fully deservedly (1:4). This score was well-justified, as Real Madrid created 5.47 xG and took 31 shots. Generally, Espanyol's defence has been weak, conceding seven goals in the last three matches. Even mid-table Deportivo Alavés managed to score twice against them, taking as many as 19 shots. However, their attacking performance looks better, with six goals scored in La Liga from an xG of 6.5. This indicates that Espanyol are efficient at converting the opportunities they manage to create.
On the other hand, Villarreal play very brightly, with bets on the total over 2.5 coming through in five of their six matches this season. Villarreal have managed an impressive xG of 10.5, yet have scored even more (12 goals). Of course, they concede a lot (13 goals with 10.9 xGA), but that's unsurprising considering their attacking inclination. On average, the team scores two goals per match and concedes roughly the same. The last match against FC Barcelona (1:5) was telling, where they themselves attacked well (13 shots and 2.49 xG) but allowed the opposition too much (17 shots and 3.63 xG). Notably, their top scorer is Ayoze Pérez, who is fourth in the top scorers' list with four goals. He is currently fit and ready to play.
In the last three matches between these teams, Villarreal have been stronger, with the teams scoring six goals in two of those encounters. We are sure that in this match, Espanyol’s defensive problems will again come to the forefront, so expect plenty of goals.
|
Manolo González
|
coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
|
In squad
|
|||
|
Joan García
|
gk. | 6 | -9 |
|
Angel Fortuno
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Fernando Pacheco
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Carlos Romero
|
df. | 6 | 1 |
|
Omar El Hilali
|
df. | 6 | 0 |
|
Álvaro Tejero
|
df. | 6 | 0 |
|
Marash Kumbulla
|
df. | 5 | 0 |
|
Brian Oliván
|
df. | 4 | 0 |
|
Leandro Cabrera
|
df. | 4 | 0 |
|
Sergi Gómez
|
df. | 4 | 0 |
|
Fernando Calero
|
df. | 2 | 0 |
|
Alex Král
|
mf. | 6 | 0 |
|
Jofre Carreras
|
mf. | 6 | 0 |
|
José Gragera Amado
|
mf. | 6 | 0 |
|
Álvaro Aguado
|
mf. | 6 | 0 |
|
Pol Lozano
|
mf. | 3 | 0 |
|
Edu Expósito
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
José Carlos Lazo
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Alejo Véliz
|
fw. | 6 | 1 |
|
Javi Puado
|
fw. | 6 | 3 |
|
Irvin Cardona
|
fw. | 5 | 0 |
|
Walid Cheddira
|
fw. | 4 | 0 |
|
Pere Milla
|
fw. | 3 | 0 |
|
Antoniu Roca
|
fw. | 2 | 0 |
|
Kenneth Soler
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Max Svensson
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Naci Ünüvar
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Omar Sadik
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Salvi Sánchez
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Marcelino Garcia
|
coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
|
In squad
|
|||
|
Diego Conde
|
gk. | 6 | -13 |
|
Iker Álvarez de Eulate
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Luiz Júnior
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Kiko Femenía
|
df. | 6 | 0 |
|
Sergi Cardona
|
df. | 6 | 1 |
|
Raúl Albiol
|
df. | 5 | 0 |
|
Eric Bailly
|
df. | 4 | 0 |
|
Logan Costa
|
df. | 4 | 1 |
|
Juan Bernat
|
df. | 2 | 0 |
|
Willy Kambwala
|
df. | 1 | 0 |
|
Alfonso Pedraza
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Juan Foyth
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Pablo Navarro
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Daniel Parejo
|
mf. | 6 | 1 |
|
Santi Comesaña
|
mf. | 6 | 0 |
|
Pape Gueye
|
mf. | 5 | 0 |
|
Álex Baena
|
mf. | 5 | 0 |
|
Ramón Terrats
|
mf. | 4 | 0 |
|
Denis Suárez
|
mf. | 1 | 0 |
|
Ayoze Pérez
|
fw. | 6 | 4 |
|
Yéremi Pino
|
fw. | 6 | 0 |
|
Ilias Akhomach
|
fw. | 5 | 0 |
|
Nicolas Pépé
|
fw. | 5 | 0 |
|
Thierno Barry
|
fw. | 5 | 1 |
|
Gerard Moreno
|
fw. | 2 | 0 |
Post by:
La Liga
