Read our prediction for Espanyol vs Villarreal below. This preview was written by a sport journalist who is specialised in betting tips and predictions. Use our betting tips for the match between Espanyol vs Villarreal and you can increase your winnings!
Espanyol vs Villarreal Prediction & Betting tips
Espanyol takes on Sunday afternoon in its own RCDE Stadium against Villarreal. Under the guidance of their new coach Pablo Machin, the troubled Catalans hope to be able to hit the road again.
Espanyol:
Espanyol managed to win European football last season, but this year the Catalans don’t bother. With only five points from eight rounds, Los Pericos is in penultimate position, so after the 2-0 defeat at Real Mallorca, David Gallego became the child of the bill. The former youth coach was appointed head coach last summer after Rubi’s departure, but has now been replaced by Pablo Machin.
Machin is a great coach who caused a furore with fellow countryman Girona, but I still find Gallego’s dismissal somewhat unjustified. Espanyol lost her best striker, midfielder and defender with Borja Iglesias, Joan Jordan and Mario Hermoso last summer, so it was obvious that the Catalans would face a difficult season. Machin will now try to turn the tide through a kind of 3-4-2-1 formation. What his first basic eleven at Espanyol will look exactly, however, is still unclear, as he did not want to have a sneak peek at training last week.
Villarreal:
With eleven points and a provisional ninth place, Villarreal is doing reasonably well, although the team of coach Javi Calleja is still very volatile. One week the yellow shirts play their best in a 5-1 monster victory at Real Betis, and then a week later they lose 2-1 in a weak match with PhD student Osasuna. If Villarreal manages to perform more consistently, then it is a serious candidate for European football.
In any case, Calleja knows which line he still needs to work on. Villarreal scores with no less than nineteen goals, but with thirteen goals it also has one of the worst rear-ends of La Liga. However, he did not have much time to work on this during the last international match period, because both Pau Torres and Raul Albiol were on the road with La Roja.
Espanyol vs Villarreal head to head matches
03.02.19 LL Villarreal Espanyol 2 : 2
17.01.19 CDR Espanyol Villarreal 3 : 1
09.01.19 CDR Villarreal Espanyol 2 : 2
07.10.18 LL Espanyol Villarreal 3 : 1
18.02.18 LL Espanyol Villarreal 1 : 1