Prediction, Odds & Betting Tips for Villarreal vs. Barcelona at La Liga
Prediction, Odds & Betting Tips for Villarreal vs. Barcelona at La Liga
The champions didn’t amaze anyone after the opening two rounds, and they apparently have certain issues in their game that must be solved. Many believe this team needs more signings, but the way things stand at the moment, we won’t see such development. The Yellow Submarine sold several big-time players throughout the summer, and they changed the landscape of their team. Quique Setién will have a big task ahead of him, which is to keep posting solid results while making a complete rebuild.
Villarreal
After losing to Betis in the first round at their Madrigal, Villarreal defeated Mallorca on the road, 1-2. They completely outplayed the island rivals, having all the statistical parameters on their side, starting from the ball possession, 60-40, to shots on and off the goal.
Jackson and Torres are gone, two of the most vital players in their area on the field, but it seems that Setien might have a plan on how to replace them. The strong Danish striker Alexander Sorloth will be the next target man, who will dictate the game.
The Yellow Submarine is a tactically very well-rounded team, who knows when to speed up and when to decrease the tempo on the field.
Barcelona
A 2-0 win over Cadiz didn’t bring too much joy to Barca’s fans. The way Blaugrana played, Xavi will have plenty of trouble. We got used to seeing Barcelona playing dull and controlling the game, usually winning 1-0 and similar, but these two La Liga encounters, vs. Getafe and Cadiz showed plenty of their weakness.
Gundogan’s effect on the field isn’t noticeable. Lewandowski is alone in the attack, and there isn’t any velocity and flamboyancy that could create an opportunity or a better situation for the remaining part of the crew.
With Dembele gone, the little speed Barca had upfront disappears, and the team needs to react. Otherwise, they won’t be better than Real and Atletico and defending the title would remain just a dream. The one good thing is the defense which didn’t concede for 180 minutes, and we have to give them praise.
Villarreal: Jorgensen; Foyth, Mandi, Cuenca, Pedraza; Capoue, Parejo, Terrats; G Moreno, Sorloth, Baena
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Kounde, Christensen, Balde; Pedri, De Jong, Gundogan; Ezzalzouli, Lewandowski, Gavi
Barca didn’t allow a goal last season against the Yellow Submarine. At Camp Nou, the hosts triumphed 3-0, while the second event, at Madrigal, saw the guests squeezing out a 0-1 victory.
We don’t have to overthink when Barcelona plays nowadays. We know that Xavi prepares a plan to kill the tempo of the game and lower the intensity so that his team can have the ball in its possession. That’s the way Barca plays these days, and we personally don’t like it, but the results are very good. This game will end with two or fewer goals, due to all the mentioned above.
Our verdict: Under 2.5 goals