Villarreal vs Anderlecht prediction: EUROPE: Europa Conference League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2023-03-15 20:00.
Seeking a second continental trophy in three seasons, Villarreal escaped Lotto Park with a hard-fought 1-1 draw in the first leg of this UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) round of 16 tie. They remain firm favourites to proceed despite the disappointment of squandering the lead, especially with eight of the previous nine seasons seeing at least one major continental trophy lifted by a Spanish club.
Because of this, and their tenuous-looking position of sixth in La Liga, the emphasis is on the Yellow Submarine to start strongly as they bid to extend their unbeaten home record in this competition (W3, D1). That run in itself indicates someone’s potential to make themselves a hero here, with all of those wins seeing one individual player net at least a brace.
Despite Anderlecht starting this week ten points adrift of fourth place – and guaranteed European qualification – in the Belgian Pro League, head coach Brian Riemer has expressed his satisfaction at the first-leg result. Riemer said that his players “did everything” he asked, as they brought to an end the Purple & White’s preceding six-game losing streak (90 min only) against sides from Europe’s top-five leagues.
As a side-narrative, this month also marks the 40th anniversary of a famous UEFA Cup win at Valencia for Anderlecht, registered en-route to what remains their most recent continental silverware. However, they’ve won just one away game against Spanish opponents since lifting that trophy (D2, L6), further underlining the improbability of their progress here.
Players to watch: Villarreal’s Manu Trigueros netted in the first leg, for his second goal in succession to arrive between the 16th-30th minute. Unlike him, Anderlecht’s Benito Raman didn’t score in Brussels, but was described by coach Riemer as a “big asset” afterwards. He vindicated that praise in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Cercle Brugge by assisting the second goal, impressively doing so within two minutes of his deployment from the bench!
Hot streak: Villarreal’s last seven home games to be won or lost have been settled by a one-goal margin.