Villarreal vs Valencia prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2024-03-16 15:15.
[p]Just three days after being eliminated from this seasonâs UEFA Europa League by Marseille, Villarreal will tackle the second of three consecutive competitive matches at Estadio de la CerĂĄmica as they look to maintain their slim hopes of competing in next seasonâs continental competitions. The next step is to bridge the five-point gap with upcoming opponents Valencia, who have a game in hand and are within striking distance of the top-six.[/p]
[p]Athletic Bilbao winning the Copa del Rey would open up a UEFA spot for seventh place, so Villarrealâs players ought to hold onto some hope, especially as they have been one of the leagueâs in-form clubs under new manager Marcelino (W6, D5, L4), who previously managed Valencia. Recent away wins over Betis (3-2) and Sociedad (3-1) confirm they can now match it with European hopefuls such as Valencia, especially at home where they remain unbeaten in five La Liga games (W2, D3).[/p]
[p]Valencia played a trio of home games of their own (W1, D2) prior to making this trip, with last weekendâs 1-0 win over Getafe keeping their dreams of returning to European football for the first time since 2019/20 alive. Head coach RubĂ©n Baraja praised a âfantastic responseâ following a âhuge effortâ against Real Madrid (2-2), particularly as the team again lost defender Mouctar Diakhaby, this time to a serious knee injury.[/p]
[p]Baraja is urging his players to concentrate their energy only on the next game rather than looking ahead or up the table, and perhaps thatâs because Valenciaâs travelling form has in parts thwarted their progress. Valencia have lost seven of their eight La Liga games away to any club starting this round above 14th-placed Sevilla (D1), with an aggregate score of 18-4 underlining how tough scoring on the road against strong opposition has been.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: After setting up goals in three of his four prior league appearances, Villarreal midfielder Ălex Baena struck his fifth competitive goal of 2023/24. Looking back to the last time these teams met, the first of Roman Yaremchukâs three La Liga goalscoring appearances for his new club was in the 3-1 home win over Villarreal. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Villarreal have conceded at least one goal in all but one of their last 20 La Liga matches.[/p]