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The 2022-23 edition of La Liga is back in action with another round of matches this week as Espanyol lock horns with an impressive Villarreal side in an important encounter at the Estadio el Madrigal on Thursday.
Villarreal vs Espanyol Preview
Espanyol are currently in 19th place in the La Liga standings and have struggled to make their mark so far this season. The Catalan outfit played out a 0-0 draw against Cadiz last week and will need to take it up a notch in this fixture.
Villarreal, on the other hand, are in sixth place in the league table at the moment and have been fairly impressive so far this season. The Yellow Submarines slumped to a disappointing 2-1 defeat at the hands of Sevilla in their previous game and will need to bounce back this week.
Villarreal vs Espanyol Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Villarreal have a good recent record against Espanyol and have won 16 out of the last 43 matches played between the two teams, as opposed to Espanyol's eight victories.
- Villarreal have won their last two matches against Espanyol in La Liga - as many victories as they had achieved against them in the 10 such games preceding this run.
- Villarreal have won only one of their last four matches at home against Espanyol in La Liga, with their previous such victory coming by a 5-1 margin in February 2022.
- After a winless run of 12 games away from home against teams from the region of Valencia in La Liga, Espanyol have won four of their last eight such matches in the competition.
- Villarreal have lost only two of their nine games at home played on Thursdays in La Liga but did lose such a game against Espanyol in 2015.
Villarreal vs Espanyol Prediction
Villarreal have been fairly impressive so far this season but are yet to justify their potential in the top flight. Samuel Chukwueze has stepped up for the team this season and will look to make his mark this week.
Espanyol are in trouble in the league standings at the moment and will need a good run to pull themselves out of the relegation zone. Villarreal are the better team at the moment and should be able to win this game.
Prediction: Villarreal 3-1 Espanyol
Villarreal vs Espanyol Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Villarreal
Tip 2: Game to have over 2.5 goals - Yes
Tip 3: Villarreal to score first - Yes
Tip 4: Samuel Chukwueze to score - Yes
