Villarreal take on the visitors Athletic in the round 34 match of Spanish LaLiga. The match will be played on Saturday, May 13th at Estadio de la Ceramica (Villarreal).
Villarreal still harbor hopes of securing a spot in the Champions League at the end of the season. Currently, Kike Setién's team occupies the fifth position in the La Liga standings and is seven points behind Real Sociedad, who is in the Champions League zone. Considering the challenging schedule of the remaining matches, I believe that Villarreal's qualification for the Europa League would also be a significant achievement. However, to accomplish this, they still need to win against Real Betis, Girona, and Athletic Bilbao, who are also contenders for European competitions. After two consecutive defeats in late April against Valladolid (1-2) and Sevilla (2-1), the "Yellow Submarine" seemed to have returned to the path of victory by defeating Espanyol (4-2) and Celta Vigo (3-1) at home. However, in the last round, Villarreal stumbled with a draw in Valencia (1-1). A draw at Mestalla is undoubtedly not the worst result, but considering Villarreal's goals in the tournament, it is undoubtedly a loss of crucial points. At home, "Los Amarillos" have achieved ten victories, two draws, and four losses this season. Villarreal players have scored 27 goals and conceded 15.
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Ernesto Valverde's team is making every effort to return to European competitions. Currently, the "Basques" have accumulated 47 points and hold the 8th position in the overall standings. They are five points behind Real Betis, who occupies the 6th place. However, since Real Madrid won the King's Cup over the weekend, the 7th position will also secure a place in the Conference League. At the beginning of last month, Athletic Bilbao had a good series of games, defeating Espanyol (2-1), Real Sociedad (2-0), and Almería (1-2) in succession. But then something broke in Valverde's team, and for the past three matches, Bilbao has been unable to taste victory. Firstly, Athletic suffered an unfortunate defeat against Sevilla (0-1) at home, then managed to secure a draw against Mallorca (1-1) in the Balearic Islands, and last weekend, they suffered another defeat at home against Real Betis (0-1). In this season, away matches in La Liga have been somewhat better for Athletic Bilbao than their home games. In sixteen matches, the "Lions" have achieved six wins, five draws, and suffered five defeats, scoring 23 goals and conceding 20.
Villarreal are currently on the rise and demonstrating very entertaining football. That is why they are considered slight favorites in the encounter. On the other hand, Athletic Bilbao has slowed down in terms of achieving results, but Valverde's team still looks decent in terms of gameplay, although luck has not been on their side lately. Villarreal has been involved in a streak of six consecutive matches with both teams scoring. Similarly, in their last four away matches, Athletic Bilbao has had a similar outcome. Moreover, matches between Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao usually involve intense competition and an exchange of goals from both sides. At least, in four out of five previous encounters, both teams managed to score. I believe that the upcoming match will also not be devoid of goals from both teams. My prediction: "both teams to score."
Prediction for the match: Both teams to score – yes.
