Villarreal vs Valladolid prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2025-01-31 15:15.
[p]No team in La Liga has kept fewer clean sheets this season than Villarreal, but boss Marcelino is sure they are beginning to improve at the back. The manager praised the bravery of his defence as they held Atlético Madrid to a 1-1 draw last time out, backing up a 4-0 win over Mallorca five days earlier when the Yellow Submarine achieved just their second shutout of the campaign.[/p]
[p]Those results mean Villarreal have lost just one of their last five outings (W2, D2), leaving them just six points adrift of the UEFA Champions League qualification places. To earn that place in the top-four, they could do with improving their form at Estadio de la Cerámica where they have won only four times in ten attempts (D4, L2), but considering 80% of their home games have featured 3+ total goals – a joint-league high – entertainment seems a near certainty.[/p]
[p]That leaky defence poses a chance to bottom-of-the table Real Valladolid, who’ve unsurprisingly netted the fewest goals in La Liga this season (14). Such toothlessness in the final third has contributed to the newly-promoted outfit sitting six points from safety and on a two-match losing streak, most crucially being beaten by fellow strugglers Espanyol in their last away game.[/p]
[p]Valladolid were also beaten 3-0 by defending champions Real Madrid most recently – the eighth time in ten outings across all competitions that they’ve conceded 2+ goals (W3, L7). That has left manager Diego Cocca scrambling to strengthen his squad before the transfer window closes, but he is having to deal with departures too as fan-favourite Kike PĂ©rez appears set to depart for Italy.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Villarreal defender Kiko FemenĂa, who picked up his sixth yellow card of the season last weekend, has directly contributed to two goals in four personal H2Hs (G1, A1), with all of those meetings ending 2-1 (W3, L1). Valladolid goalkeeper Karl Hein will hope to break that peculiar run, but the omens aren’t good as he has never kept an away clean sheet for the club, conceding 2+ goals in all but one of his 11 appearances on the road.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Real Valladolid are the only team in the division yet to score exactly twice in a league fixture this season.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Matt Jones[/i][/p]