Villarreal-Espanyol is a match on the 31st day of La Liga and is played Thursday at 7:30pm: lineups, predictions, TV and streaming.
They are fighting for different goals, but both are in danger of seeing them slip away at the highlight of the season. Villarreal can no longer play with fire, suddenly stranded after the resounding victory at the “Bernabeu” with Real Madrid obtained in a comeback.
Since that success, the Yellow Submarine has lost two in a row, surrendering first to Real Valladolid and then, last Sunday, to Sevilla: two unexpected defeats that have jeopardized the chase of Quique Setien’s team toward fourth place, now eight points away. In fact, participation in the other European competitions is also at risk: behind Villarreal are Osasuna and Athletic Bilbao, ready to take advantage of any more missteps to overtake the yellows in sixth place. Pau Torres and his teammates are therefore called upon to react, to quickly forget the mocking defeat at the “Pizjuan” and that goal by En-Nesyri conceded right in the last minute of recovery (2-1). Without considering that the draw with untouched goals in the direct clash between Betis and Real Sociedad, the two teams ahead of Villarreal, was the best result that could have occurred.
Villarreal, last call for Champions
Beating Espanyol, Villarreal would in fact nibble two points off Imanol’s Basque side, overtaking Betis and momentarily retaking fifth place.
Joselu
As for the Catalans, the situation has become even more complicated after the failure to win the direct clash with Cadiz. Luis Garcia’s men failed to break through the wall of the Andalusians (0-0) and, despite breaking the series of six defeats in a row, they remain in penultimate place, in the middle of the relegation zone. In the difficult away match at the Estadio de la Ceramica, the Espanyol coach will not have Aleix Vidal at his disposal, but Setien is also struggling with numerous training problems: in addition to Gerard Moreno and Coquelin, the former Barcelona coach will also have to do without Raul Albiol.
The prediction
Villarreal cannot afford to lose any more points, especially against a hugely struggling opponent like Espanyol. A victory for Setien’s men is highly probable, in a match in which they are likely to score both: in fact, the Catalans have almost always scored on the road so far, except for one occasion.
The probable formations of Villarreal-Espanyol
- VILLARREAL (4-4-2): Reina; Foyth, Mandi, Pau Torres, Moreno; Parejo, Terrats, Baena, Lo Celso; Chukwueze, Pino.
- ESPANYOL (4-3-3): Pacheco; Gil, Montes, Gómez, Cabrera; Darder, Gragera, Melamed; Braithwaite, Puado, Joselu.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
