Villarreal vs Espanyol

Estadio La Ceramica is the venue as Villarreal and Espanyol lock horns in a high-stakes La Liga showdown.

Villarreal’s slump continued last weekend as a disheartening 3-0 loss to Celta Vigo extended their unenviable run to just one win in four league outings (D2, L1). ‘El Submarino Amarillo’ must make the most out of this game in hand to overhaul a two-point deficit on fifth-placed Real Betis and claim the final Champions League qualification spot. The upcoming home return after a forgettable midweek trip to Vigo should re-establish confidence around Marcelino’s camp, especially considering his men have gone unbeaten in all ten home league clashes against sides starting this round outside the top six (W5, D5). Fans in attendance should be in for a treat, with Villarreal’s La Liga matches averaging the division’s second-high 3.13 goals per game this season.

Meanwhile, Espanyol squandered a slender halftime lead in a 1-1 draw at Valencia last weekend but still stretched their unbeaten run in La Liga to five games (W3, D2). Manolo Gonzalez’s men are not out of the woods yet, but a seven-point lead over 18th-placed Las Palmas makes for promising reading as they bid to stave off relegation. Fresh off winning La Liga’s Coach of the Month award for April, Gonzalez will look to arrest Espanyol’s recent struggles in this fixture by helping his side end a four-game losing H2H run, including a pair of multi-goal margin defeats at La Ceramica – both of which saw them concede 4+ goals!