Espanyol vs Villarreal prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2024-09-25 17:00.
[p]Espanyol took a surprise lead against Real Madrid in their last La Liga outing, but eventually lost out 4-1 with three goals conceded from the 75th minute onwards. Head coach Manolo González was still happy with the “character” of his team, especially as it was a first loss in four games (W2, D1). That defeat means the newly-promoted Parakeets are still searching for their 1,000th top-flight victory, although the immediate priority will be securing a win that gets them back on track. [/p]
[p]Both their league wins this season have come at home, so Therefore, a return to their RCDE Stadium could be a blessing if they are to overcome their recent H2H problems. The Catalans have triumphed just once against Villarreal across their last 13 home top-flight H2Hs (D8, L4) although consecutive wins here this season against Rayo Vallecano and Alavés means they’ll be confident hosts.[/p]
[p]High-flying Villarreal saw their unbeaten start to the season (W3, D2) come crashing down in a 5-1 defeat against leaders Barcelona. The scoreline doesn’t reflect the close battle as they were 2-1 down until nearly the hour mark with head coach Marcelino stating the “result was excessive.” It continued the excitement factor in their matches however, as the Yellow Submarine have now seen both teams score in all six of their league games so far, with all but one of those matches producing over 2.5 goals.[/p]
[p]The visitors are unbeaten across their three away league games this season (W2, D1), and have a distinct ability to strike late. Both of their wins in this sequence came by a 2-1 scoreline, with the match winner coming deep into stoppage time courtesy of Ayoze PĂ©rez – who also struck their only goal in last weekend’s loss to the league leaders. [/p]
[p]Key battle: Joan GarcĂa was not just the busiest person on the pitch in Espanyol’s match against Madrid making ten saves, he was also their highest Flashscore-rated player. Looking to beat him may be Dani Parejo, whose only goal this season was a match winner against Celta Vigo and he was busy when these sides last met, assisting and scoring Villarreal’s first two goals in a 4-2 win.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: 11 of Villarreal’s last 12 away league games saw both teams score. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Sridhar B[/i][/p]