Villarreal vs Granada
Villarreal will aim to continue their challenge at the top end of La Liga on Wednesday, when Granada comes to town.
It’s fourth versus seventh at the Estadio de la Ceramica but the hosts come into the game in very impressive form, four wins on the bounce while their opponents are a little prone to travel sickness. Dependant on the other La Liga 2021 results this week, a win will not only take the Yellow Submarine up to the third place, but the hosts could also further cement a Champions League spot.
Talking Points
Villarreal back to winning ways
SBOTOP La Liga fans will all know Villarreal as a perennial European football contender, with six top six finishes in the last seven seasons, punctuated only by a 14th placed finish in 2019. But normal service was resumed with a fifth place in the 2019/20 campaign and this season, under former Sevilla head coach Unai Emery, they are kicking on again.
The Yellow Submarine went on a record-breaking 19 match unbeaten run before being upended by Sevilla recently, and they have recovered well, winning a clash with in-form Levante and then following that up with two Copa del Rey victories and a 4-0 hammering of Celta Vigo in the league.
Emery’s side was ruthless against Celta as star striker Gerard Moreno bagged his tenth goal of the season, with just four minutes on the clock, and then Villarreal went on to force a four-goal lead within 30 minutes. Moi Gomez scored the second and Dani Parejo made it three with a well struck free-kick before Fernando Nino rounded things off with an hour left on the clock.
Only Barca’s Lionel Messi, with 11, has more than Moreno’s ten goals so far this season and while he’s still in the hunt for the Golden Boot the 28 year old is making a great case for adding to his nine caps for Spain.
Granada’s away day blues
Diego Martinez’ team is hoping to avoid a third consecutive away victory in the league, having recently fallen to Real Madrid and Eibar and, not only that, they have the fewest goals on the road this season with only five strikes from eight away games. Then to add to Martinez’ away day headache are the 16 goals his side has conceded on these trips.
Two weeks ago Granada were cruelly exposed by Barcelona who thumped them 4-0, but they did arrive on the back of two consecutive victories, in the Copa against Malaga and at home to Osasuna in the league. So they will make the trip to Valencia with improved confidence and Martinez will be looking for his front men to increase their output on their travels.
Striker Luis Suarez has been in good form, with four goals, while former Spurs forward Roberto Soldado has three, as has Jorge Molina. Just behind these three, French midfielder Maxime Gonalons adds some bite, but he needs to keep his cool having already picked up six yellow cards and one red this season.
History
Villarreal have had the better of the head to heads between these two sides, winning seven to Granada’s two over the past decade; and the Yellow Submarine has not been sunk at home to Granada in seven games.
In the opening clash of the 2019/20 season the two teams put on an exhibition match which ended in a 4-4 draw. Moreno and Gomez were on target for Villarreal as they stormed into a 4-2 lead with 15 minutes to go, but Soldado and then Antonio Puertas hit back to grab a dramatic late point for Granada.
While the visitors have been shaky on the road recently, Villarreal’s home form has been impressive all season, having plundered 19 points from nine games, five wins and four draws, scoring 14 goals along the way while conceding just seven.
Betting Tip
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Villarreal vs Granada | First Half 1X2 Villarreal @ 2.30 |
| January 21, 04:30 (GMT+8) |
The Villarreal vs Granada betting odds are squarely behind a home win, with the Yellow Submarine hotly fancied at 1.55 to win, while Granada are at 5.60 and the draw at 4.00.
Having forged ahead by the break in their last two league games, and firing four in 30 minutes against Celta, I’m backing Villarreal to take the game away from Granada from the off and make it five wins on the bounce, and for a correct score-line I’d go for 2-0 at 7.00.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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