1 Espanyol vs 2 Villarreal
Villarreal looking to extend three-game unbeaten run against Espanyol.
Espanyol seek redemption at Cornellà-El Prat against Villarreal, aiming to end a tough streak and regain momentum after a heavy weekend defeat to Real Madrid.
Espanyol
Espanyol were on the wrong end of a 4-1 scoreline against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu over the weekend. The White and Blue had taken the lead via an own goal by Thibaut Courtois before the game flipped on its head.
Espanyol’s head coach, Manolo González, failed to hide his disappointment after the loss, admitting that the goals conceded by his side were ‘avoidable,’ and believed his team was capable of scoring points. The defeat put an end to Espanyol’s three-game unbeaten run, dropping them one spot down the table to 13th place with 7 points.
The home side will have an opportunity to reclaim lost ground when they host Villarreal on Thursday in front of their home crowd. Moving up the table would be a step further away from a spot in the bottom half, with their ultimate objective being to remain in the top flight after their recent promotion from the Segunda division.
Meanwhile, Espanyol will be looking to end a four-game winless run against the visitors. A 5—3—2 formation with Javi Puado and Walid Cheddira in attack is expected for this midweek encounter. Espanyol will be without Edu Expósito for Thursday’s game.
Villarreal
Villarreal saw their five-game winless run come to an end at the weekend after a 5-1 loss to table-topping Barcelona. Ayoze Pérez [38’] tried to spark a comeback by halving Villarreal’s deficit after a Robert Lewandowski brace [20’, 35'], but a Pablo Torre [58’] goal took the game out of reach.
A brace from Raphinha [75’, 83’], who is right behind La Liga’s leading goal scorer Lewandowski [6] on the scoring charts, having found the back of the net five times, put the final nail in the coffin. ‘I think the result was excessive for what we saw on the pitch. I’m proud of the team’s work and the way we played, and I’m sad about our defensive record,’ Villarreal head coach Marcelino García Toral said in a post-match interview.
Villarreal are 6th with 11 points on the board, one point outside the top four ahead of Thursday’s clash against Espanyol. The last time Villarreal visited Espanyol, they walked away with a 1-0 win.
Victory on Thursday will not only leave the visitors with back-to-back wins over Espanyol but with a four-game unbeaten run against the hosts [2W, 1D, 0L]. A 4-4-2 with Ayoze Pérez and Nicolas Pépé in attack is expected for this fixture against Espanyol.
Team form
Showing the latest five games—giving you a quick look at recent performance trends. Teams in good form tend to do well in the next match.
Team Comparison
Side-by-side assessment of team statistics, including goals, attacks, and more. This allows you to directly compare key performance metrics. Analyzing these stats can reveal patterns and strengths that might influence the outcome.