Will Villarreal win their fourth match in a row?
On Monday evening, the last games of the nineteenth matchday of the Spanish La Liga take place. We take a look at the duel between the yellow submarine from Villarreal and UD Levante in our analysis. The distribution of roles in this match is clear according to the bookmakers. In the match Villarreal vs. Levante all predictions go in the direction of a success of the hosts. The odds of 1.43 at the top of the table speak for themselves here.
This is not surprising, as the home side put in a good performance before the short Christmas break and are on a small winning streak. As a result, even the international competitions have come back into focus and with another win, the gap should be further reduced. The Eastern Spaniards will be looking to continue their flow in the New Year and the bottom team in the table should not be a stumbling block.
The guests from Valencia are up to their necks. They have yet to win a single match this season. We have our doubts that this will change on the last matchday of the first half of the season, and there is a great danger that the gap to the save shore will continue to grow. Kick-off at the Estadio de la Ceramica will be at 19:00 on Monday.
Villarreal – Statistics & current form
Last season, the Yellow and Blue finished seventh in the final standings, which meant qualification for the Conference League. But due to the completely surprising win of the Europa League, the Submarino amarillo even managed to make it to the Champions League, where the East Spaniards played a very good group stage.
In the league, things have not been going so well for a long time. Head coach Unai Emery’s team had a difficult start to the season and did not win their first three points until the fifth game. In total, they have celebrated six victories so far and have drawn seven times. With a total of 25 points, Villarreal are currently in ninth place in La Liga. However, they are only four points off the first international spot.
Villarreal with three wins in a row in La Liga
The hosts owe this still decent starting position to a series of three wins in a row. Against Vallecano (2:0) and Alaves (5:2) as well as at Real Sociedad (3:1), the yellow-blues prevailed with aplomb. The strength of the yellow submarine clearly lies in the defence. Keeper Geronimo Rulli has only had to make twenty saves. Only four teams have conceded fewer goals so far.
There is room for improvement in the offensive, which has been getting better and better in the last few games. So far, the opposing keeper has been overcome 26 times. Gerard Moreno is the top scorer for the East Spaniards with six goals. He will now also be looking to score against the last team in the league.
Villarreal get through CL group stage
The home side are also convincing in the other competitions. A 7-1 victory over Sanluqueno saw them reach the Copa del Rey sixteen-finals. In the Champions League, the Yellow and Blue finished second behind Manchester United at the end of the group stage and thus entered the round of the last sixteen teams.
Predicted Villarreal line-up:
Rulli – Estupinan, Albiol, Torres, Foyth – Pino, Capoue, Parejo, Trigueros – Dia, Moreno
Last matches played by Villarreal:
LaLiga
12/21 2021 – Villarreal FC 5 – 2 Deportivo Alaves
12/18 2021 – San Sebastian 1 – 3 Villarreal FC
Copa del Rey
12/15 2021 – Atletico Sanluqueno CF 1 – 7 FC Villarreal
LaLiga
12/12 2021 – Villarreal FC 2 – 0 Rayo Vallecano
Champions League Grp. F
12/09 2021 – Atalanta Bergamo 2 – 3 FC Villarreal
Levante – Statistics & current form
Big worries among the fans of UD Levante. The performance of the Blue-Red so far is more than disappointing and it must be feared for the class preservation. After just seven matchdays, the club’s management pulled the emergency brake and sacked the entire sporting leadership. In addition to coach Javier Pereira, sporting director Manolo Salvador and squad planner David Navarro had to pack their bags. Their successor, Alessio Lisci, is now to tackle the difficult task of avoiding relegation.
The record so far is already frightening. After eighteen games, the visitors have just eight points to their name. This means that the gap between them and the relegation zone has already grown to seven points. Points are urgently needed to prevent the situation from becoming even more hopeless.
Levante are still without a win in the league
The Lisci eleven is still without a three-pointer in the current season. Eight times they have managed to share the points. The last six appearances on the opponent’s pitch were all lost. The oddsmakers’ assessment of Monday night’s match is correspondingly accurate. In the clash between Villarreal and Levante, betting on the visitors is rewarded with odds of 8.00 at the top.
UD with worst defence in the league
The biggest area for Coach Lisci to clean up is certainly the weak defence. With 36 goals conceded, the Blue-Red have conceded by far the most goals in La Liga so far. The offensive has scored 19 times, leaving seven teams behind in this statistic. Jose Morales is the visitors’ top scorer with five goals.
Will the Blue-Red finally be able to turn the tables and get their first win? No easy task for the bottom team against the in-form hosts.
Predicted Levante line-up:
Cardenas – Clerc, Vezo, Duarte, Pubill Pages – Malsa, Campana, de Frutos – Bardhi, Marti, Morales
Last matches played by Levante:
LaLiga
12/20 2021 – Levante 3 – 4 Valencia
Copa del Rey
12/14 2021 – Alcoyano (3)3 – 3(1) Levante
LaLiga
12/11 2021 – Espanyol 4 – 3 Levante
12/05 2021 – Levante 0 – 0 Osasuna Pamplona
Copa del Rey
12/02 2021 – Huracan Melilla 0 – 8 Levante
Villarreal – Levante Direct comparison / H2H balance
The two rivals have met in 24 matches so far. In the overall balance, the hosts have the clear nose in front. Sixteen victories go to the account of the yellow-blue, while only six successes are on the books of Levante. According to the bookmakers, this record will be further extended on Monday. In the match between Villarreal and Levante, all predictions go in the direction of a three-goal win for the home side.
The two teams met three times last season. The two league games went to the Submarino Amarillo with 2:1 and 5:1. In the cup match, however, Levante caused a big surprise and knocked Villarreal out of the competition with a 1-0 win after extra time.
Villarreal – Levante tip
The roles are clearly distributed in this duel. The home side go into this game favoured after three wins in a row. Five wins in a row across all competitions show what good form head coach Unai Emery’s team is in.
The situation for the visitors at the end of the first half of the season is already extremely precarious. Without a single win from their previous games and already seven points behind the safety net, it will be difficult to avoid the drop into the second division. The defence in particular, which conceded four goals in each of the last two games, is a major cause for concern.
The hosts go into this clash as clear favourites and we subscribe to this assessment. We expect the Submarino amarillo to score a goal or two against the bottom team and recommend betting on a match with at least three goals at odds of 1.58 at the top in the Villarreal vs Levante match.
Alternatively, in the match Villarreal vs. Levante, at betting odds of 2.15, we place a small bet on a handicap win (-1.5) for the home side. We therefore expect a win with at least a two-goal difference.
