Villarreal vs Espanyol predictions and match preview for Thursday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, team news and predicted lineups as the visitors target an upset at the Ceramica.
| Date | Thursday 27th April 2023 |
| Kick-Off | 19:30 (CEST) |
| Stadium | Ceramica |
| Competition | LaLiga |
Villarreal vs Espanyol Preview
Villarreal and Espanyol clash in one of three games on Thursday in LaLiga. The hosts are hoping to close in on a European place while the visitors are in the midst of a battle for survival that looks set to go to the wire.
A top four finish is the objective for Villarreal and has been since a ball was kicked this season. On paper, they have a squad that is capable of getting 4th place with Real Sociedad and maybe Real Betis the only other realistic contenders. Those two sides have both tailed off to some extent in the second half of the season, but surprise defeats such as their recent 2-1 home loss against Real Valladolid have prevented them from fully capitalising.
The Yellow Submarine played quite well at the weekend at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan but weren’t clinical enough in the final third and succumbed to a late 2-1 defeat as Youssef En-Nesyri lept high and headed home. With La Real and Betis drawing on Tuesday, Villarreal know they’ll go 5th with a win here, but even then they’d still have 5 points to make up on Real Sociedad over the remaining 7 games.
Espanyol will also be keeping a close eye on other results at the moment but unless they can start winning some football matches, what happens elsewhere will be irrelevant. They failed to secure three points from what felt like a “must win” home game against Cadiz last time out despite putting the visitors under heavy pressure at times and missing some good chances.
The draw ended a 6 game losing streak and granted new boss Luis Garcia a first point but with some tough games on the horizon, they needed more. The only positives for Espanyol are that they are in pretty good shape selection wise with Brian Olivan their only current injury concern and that’s a positive in what is a busy period that will also see them play on Sunday and Thursday.
Team News & Possible Lineups
Villarreal
| INJURED | Coquelin, Gerard Moreno, Femenia, Albiol |
| DOUBTFUL | Morales |
| BANNED |
Possible XI: Reina – Moreno, Torres, Mandi, Foyth – Capoue, Parejo, Terrats – Pino, Jackson, Chukwueze (4-3-3)
Coach: Quique Setien
Espanyol
| INJURED | |
| DOUBTFUL | Olivan |
| BANNED | Vidal |
Possible XI: Pacheco – Cabrera, Gomez, Montes, Gil – Gragera, Darder – Puado, Melamed, Braithwaite – Joselu (4-2-3-1)
Coach: Luis Garcia
Score Prediction: Villarreal 2-1 Espanyol
You never quite know what to expect from Villarreal who have a habit of falling short, just when you start to think they are finding their feet under Quique Setien. Espanyol’s defensive problems should present them with enough chances to win this game though.
PLEASE NOTE – Our LaLiga predictions are not betting tips! No profits are guaranteed if you’re using them to bet on Spanish football. If you are gambling, do so responsibly and never stake more than you can afford to lose. BeGambleAware.
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