MX23RW : Thursday, March 28 18:21:46| >> :60:1707:1707:
[monks data]
Villarreal logo
La Liga | Gameweek 33
Apr 19, 2022 at 8.30pm UK
Estadio El Madrigal
Valencia logo

Villarreal
2 - 0
Valencia

Danjuma (10' pen., 17')
Trigueros (75'), Aurier (84')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Comert (9'), Maranhao (40'), Moriba (66')

Preview: Villarreal vs. Valencia - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Tuesday's La Liga clash between Villarreal and Valencia, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Champions League semi-finalists Villarreal will be bidding to make it back-to-back victories in La Liga when they welcome Valencia to Estadio de la Ceramica on Tuesday night.

The Yellow Submarine are currently seventh in the table, six points behind sixth-placed Real Sociedad, while Valencia occupy 10th position, seven points behind their opponents in this match.


Match preview

Villarreal's Samuel Chukwueze celebrates scoring their first goal with Giovani Lo Celso and teammates on April 12, 2022© Reuters

Villarreal spectacularly booked their spot in the semi-finals of the Champions League by drawing 1-1 with Bayern Munich in the second leg of their quarter-final last week, and Unai Emery's side are now preparing for a two-legged last-four clash against Liverpool, with the first leg due to take place at Anfield on April 27.

The Yellow Submarine's league form has been patchy in recent weeks, losing three of their four matches between March 5 and April 2, but they picked up a point at home to Athletic Bilbao on April 9 before recording a 2-1 victory over Getafe on Saturday courtesy of goals from Gerard Moreno and Manu Trigueros.

Villarreal are currently seventh in the La Liga table, six points behind sixth-placed Real Sociedad, so it is going to be very tough for them to claim a top-six finish this term, and they are only actually seven points ahead of 10th-placed Valencia, so it is not impossible to see them slide down the table.

Emery's team have been impressive at home in La Liga this season, picking up 32 points from their 16 matches, but Valencia's away form has been relatively strong, claiming 20 points from 16 matches.

Villarreal have actually lost their last two league games against Valencia, including a 2-0 defeat at Mestalla earlier this season, but they won 2-1 when the pair last locked horns at Estadio de la Ceramica in October 2020.

Valencia coach Jose Bordalas Jimenez reacts on March 2, 2022© Reuters

Valencia will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 home defeat to Osasuna on Saturday, and Los Che have only been victorious in one of their last five league matches during a disappointing run.

Jose Bordalas's side will face Real Betis in the Copa del Rey final next weekend, though, and are on course to better their 13th-place finish in Spain's top flight last term.

Valencia will take on Villarreal, Levante, Athletic Bilbao, Real Betis, Espanyol and Celta Vigo in their final six league matches of the campaign, and it is not impossible to see them catching Villarreal in seventh, but they are 13 points behind sixth-placed Real Sociedad on the same number of matches (32).

Los Che are currently seven points clear of 13th-placed Elche, meanwhile, so a top-half finish seems likely, which would be a step in the right direction after such a disappointing 2020-21 campaign.

Bordalas's team, as mentioned, have been relatively strong away from home this term, winning five, drawing five and losing six of their 16 matches to collect 20 points.

Villarreal La Liga form:
  • L
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • D
  • W

Villarreal form (all competitions):
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • D
  • D
  • W

Valencia La Liga form:
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • D
  • D
  • L



Team News

Villarreal's Gerard Moreno and teammates celebrate after the match on March 16, 2022© Reuters

Villarreal will again be without the services of Alberto Moreno through injury, but the home side are otherwise in strong shape when it comes to their first-team squad.

As expected, head coach Emery rung the changes against Getafe following the Champions League win over Bayern, but this match comes eight days before the first leg of their European Cup semi-final with Liverpool, so a strong team is expected to take to the field.

Indeed, Emery will be wary of over-rotating and losing momentum heading into the clash at Anfield, although it could be Gerard Moreno's turn to have a rest, with Arnaut Danjuma potentially returning alongside Paco Alcacer, while the likes of Etienne Capoue, Juan Foyth and Raul Albiol could also feature.

As for Valencia, Gabriel Paulista, Yunus Musah and Maxi Gomez all missed out against Osasuna through injury, and the trio remain injury doubts for the contest with Villarreal.

Head coach Bordalas is likely to make changes from the side that lost last time out, with Carlos Soler, Marcos Andre and Thierry Correia all pushing to return to the starting XI.

However, if Gomez is again ruled out, Hugo Duro could retain his spot alongside Goncalo Guedes in attack, with Bryan Gil playing off the left despite struggling to have an impact against Osasuna.

Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Foyth, Albiol, P Torres, Pedraza; Lo Celso, Parejo, Capoue, Trigueros; Alcacer, Danjuma

Valencia possible starting lineup:
Mamardashvili; Correia, Diakhaby, Guillamon, Gaya; Andre, Soler, Racic, Gil; Duro, Guedes


SM words green background

We say: Villarreal 1-0 Valencia

Villarreal's focus will be on the upcoming clash with Liverpool, but they must remain professional in the league, and with Emery likely to select a strong side here, we are expecting the Yellow Submarine to collect all three points in front of their own supporters.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data



ID:483571:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect11457:

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Villarreal win with a probability of 58.59%. A draw had a probability of 23% and a win for Valencia had a probability of 18.4%.

The most likely scoreline for a Villarreal win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.3%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.99%) and 2-1 (9.77%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.93%), while for a Valencia win it was 0-1 (6.12%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 11% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Villarreal would win this match.


Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Game History

How you voted: Villarreal vs Valencia

Villarreal
72.0%
Draw
19.0%
Valencia
9.0%
100
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger celebrating scoring against Real Madrid on April 12, 2022.
Read Next:
Champions League Team of the Week - Rudiger, Modric, Firmino
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Real Madrid29226164204472
2Barcelona29197360342664
3GironaGirona29195559342562
4Athletic Bilbao29168550262456
5Atletico MadridAtletico29174854342055
6Real Sociedad291210742311146
7Real BetisBetis29101273433142
8Valencia28117103232040
9Villarreal29108114751-438
10Getafe2991193742-538
11Las PalmasLas Palmas29107122932-337
12Osasuna29106133343-1036
13AlavesAlaves2988132635-932
14Mallorca29612112535-1030
15Rayo Vallecano29611122538-1329
16Sevilla29610133644-828
17Celta Vigo2969143244-1227
18CadizCadiz29313132040-2022
19Granada2828183058-2814
20Almeria29110182857-2913


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!