Villarreal vs Almeria prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2023-09-16 14:15.
New boss Pacheta has confidently declared “we’re going to pull it off” as he looks to turn Villarreal’s campaign around. The former Real Valladolid man has taken the hot seat after the club decided to sack manager Quique Setién, who had overseen a run of three defeats in four matches (W1), during the international break.
That run of form amounts to the Yellow Submarine’s worst start to a season since 2009/10, so Pacheta will be keen to revive his new team’s fortunes as quickly as possible. They have been particularly poor at Estadio de la Cerámica, where defeats to Real Betis and Barcelona put them at risk of suffering three straight home La Liga (LL) losses for the first time since May 1999!
Hoping to rub salt into the wounds are visitors AlmerĂa, whose start to the campaign has been even worse than their opponents. Like Villarreal, the Rojiblancos have lost three of their four matches and conceded nine goals, but they have picked up just one point, that coming in a 1-1 stalemate at Cádiz when a last-gasp strike from Kaiky secured a draw.
It’s hardly the start to the season new manager Vicente Moreno wanted, and he remains winless since taking the reins over the summer. He conceded his players are finding it “difficult” to adapt to his style of play after a 3-2 defeat to Celta Vigo before the international break, which makes the trip to Villarreal, whom they have not beaten in the last 12 attempts (D4, L8), look even more daunting.
Key battle: Gerard Moreno has netted first or last in ten of his last 11 goalscoring appearances in LL for Villarreal. Looking to stop him will be AlmerĂa goalkeeper LuĂs Maximiano, who is also hoping to improve on a record of just four clean sheets from his 22 games in the Spanish top-flight, conceding at least twice on 13 occasions.
Hot streak: Both teams have scored in 13 of Villarreal’s last 15 league matches.