Prediction: Villareal vs Alaves

Verdict: Villareal to win & BTTS

Best odds: 2.75

Bookmaker: Zetbet

Villareal will host Alaves in a fixture where both teams will try to take some distance from the relegation zone. It has been an unexpectedly poor start of the season for the Yellow Submarine who managed to win only 2 games from their 9 played so far. The game will start at 19:30 local time on a packed Estadio de la Ceramica where 20 000 fans will cheer for their favorites.

Villareal

The waters are murky in the Mediterranean Sea reflecting this season’s fall of Villareal. From winning the UEFA Conference League 2 years ago and qualifying for the Europa League’s group stage this season to being just 2 points from a relegation spot pictures perfect the fall of Villareal. Although Quique Settien did a good job last season securing a Europa League spot for the Yellow Submarine, the start of this campaign had some disastrous results that led to his sacking. Jose Rojo Martin, known as Pacheta, was called up to surface the Submarine but failed to do so.

Under his command, Villareal did not show real progress, winning only 2 of their 7 competitive matches. The unexpected defeats at home with Las Palmas and Girona are already putting pressure on the newly appointed manager. Villareal failed to replace Nicolas Jackson who left in London to play for Chelsea, leaving the attaching power to diminish significantly. Pacheta failed to improve his attaching players who pulled a shameful average of 0.71 goals scored per game in all competitions.

Team News

Denis Suarez is still recovering from his muscle injury and will most likely be unavailable for this match. Francis Coquelin is a long absence suffering a terrible knee injury. Alex Baena will not play against Alaves due to his suspension. Yeremy Pino will not feature in the attack after suffering a hamstring injury in the previous match played at home against Las Palmas.

Alexander Sorloth will lead the attack hoping to repeat the performance he had at his national team when he scored for Norway. The experienced Raul Albiol will lead the defense starting from the centre, with Mandi, Foyth, and Pedraza joining him in the defense. Dani Parejo is expected to control the midfield and give passes behind the opponents’ defense, where Sorloth will exploit any chances to score.

Alaves

The newly promoted Alaves is finding life difficult in La Liga. With 8 points accumulated from their 9 matches, the visitors seem to be caught already in a battle for survival. Luis Garcia’s team are playing very well at home where they won 7 points from a maximum of 15. On the road, the story is different, with Alaves losing 3 of their 4 matches played, drawing only at Celta Vigo (1-1). A concerning fact for Luis Garcia’s player is the lack of accuracy in front of the opponent’s goalie when the team plays on the road.

Except for the match with Celta, Alaves lost all of their matches played as hosts, without scoring a goal. Villareal might just be the team for Alaves to get their 1st win away of this season. None of the 14 matches played at Estadio de la Ceramica ended in a draw with the visitors pulling an impressive 6 wins out of 14 direct encounters.

 Team News

Giuliano Simeone, the talented striker will be missing from the squad, recovering from his broken leg injury. He is not expected to return until next year. Javi Lopez is still out for a couple of weeks with his ankle injury. Except for these 2 players, Luis Garcia has all of his players available for the crucial fixture against Villareal.

Abkar and Sedlar are expected to lead the defense with Guridi and Gureva playing as defensive midfielders. Ianis Hagi who scored as well for his national team, will assist the striker Kike Garcia. Sola and Roja will play wingers hoping to deliver quality crosses in the opposition box.

Key factors to consider

• Villareal lost their last 2 La Liga home matches, with the same score (1-2), played against Las Palmas and Girona
• The hosts are 16th in the table, just 2 points above the relegation zone.
• Villareal won the last 3 matches played at home with Alaves.
• Alaves failed to win away this season.
• The visitors have an average of 0.25 goals scored in the games played on the road.

Conclusion

Villareal has all the chances to win against Alaves considering the home-away statistics. It will be a difficult match for both teams because they are struggling to find form and get the results. Playing at home will be a major advantage for Villareal. Having Sorloth in top form I see the Yellow Submarine finally resurfacing to get some much-needed fresh air.

Verdict: Villareal to win & BTTS

Best odds: 2.75

Bookmaker: Zetbet