Villarreal hungry for goals: tough visit for champions Atletico
On the 20th matchday of La Liga, there is an exciting top match that does not look like one at first glance on the La Liga table. Because the eighth in the table receives the fourth in the table. But in Villarreal and Atletico Madrid, two Champions League eighth-finalists meet – and Villarreal is in a really good mood. Actually.
The match will take place at the Estadio de la Ceramica in Villarreal on Sunday evening at 9 pm – the TV slot that La Liga usually reserves for the top match. The odds before Villarreal vs. Atletico Madrid also indicate that it will be exciting – because they are extremely balanced.
Villarreal – Statistics & current form
Actually, Villarreal have been in impressive form for weeks. Actually. Because after a series of impressive victories, they suffered a complete surprise on Thursday in the Copa del Rey with a 1:2 defeat at second division side Sporting Gijon and with it a cup knockout.
The embarrassing elimination was not foreseeable, because before that Villarreal had finally found its form. The yellow submarine has won six competitive games in a row – with a goal difference of 25 to 6. In La Liga alone, they won the last two games in impressive fashion and celebrated goal festivals in each case: Just before Christmas, Villarreal kicked Deportivo Alaves out of the stadium with 5:2 in the catch-up game from Matchday 4, then on 3 January there was a 5:0 smashing victory against the last team in the table, Levante.
Victory seconds away: Villarreal with enormous bad luck at the Wanda Metropolitano
So now comes the third league home game in a row – but it might not be quite so easy this time, after all Atletico Madrid are guests at La Ceramica. Confidence in front of goal would be good for the home side this time, as Villarreal failed to score a goal of their own in Atletico’s last two visits (0:2, 0:0).
That the yellow submarine can annoy Atletico, however, was well demonstrated in the first leg, which ended 2-2 on Matchday 3 at the end of August – in a most unfortunate manner for Villarreal, who headed the equaliser into their own goal in the 6th minute of injury time in the person of defender Aissa Mandi.
All these circumstances alone mean that we consider the odds on Villarreal vs Atletico Madrid to be reasonable. If you bet on the draw in view of Villarreal’s upward trend, you will get an average of 3.20 – for us, this is a reasonable tip on the Villarreal vs. Atletico Madrid match.
Predicted Villarreal line-up:
Rulli – Foyth, Albiol, Torres, Estupiñan – Capoue, Parejo, Trigueros, Gomes – Moreno, Pino
Last matches played by Villarreal:
Copa del Rey
01/06 2022 – Sporting Gijon 2 – 1 FC Villarreal
LaLiga
01/03 2022 – Villarreal FC 5 – 0 Levante
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 Villarreal FC
Atletico Madrid – Statistics & current form
Atletico Madrid can breathe a sigh of relief: After four league defeats in a row – a negative record under coach Cholo Simeone – the Rojiblancos finally managed a win in the derby against Rayo at the weekend. The 2-0 win over their city and league rivals was followed by an effortless 5-0 victory over third division side Rayo Majadahonda in the cup during the week.
Two wins to nil, which should calm the situation for the champions before the very difficult guest game in Villarreal. Only three teams have a better home record than the yellow submarine (6 wins, 2 draws, 2 defeats) – Atletico is not among them. The Rojiblancos, for their part, also have their problems away from home, with four defeats already and six of their ten matches away from home this season not won.
Atletico’s away woes: Three defeats in a row away from home
Atletico’s four defeats in a row include three away from home at Granada (1:2), Sevilla (1:2) and city rivals Real Madrid (0:2). Given this record and Atletico’s recent form, it’s little wonder that Villarreal vs Atletico Madrid has average odds of 2.60 on an away win.
Which doesn’t make the away game any easier for the Simeone eleven: The Rojiblancos coach will have to do without Luis Suarez (suspension) and Antoine Griezmann (muscle injury), and Atletico have also announced the transfer of right-back Kieran Trippier to Newcastle United as perfect. The game in Villarreal will not be any easier without the three regulars.
Predicted line-up of Atletico Madrid:
Oblak – Llorente, Felipe, Hermoso, Lodi – Carrasco, Kondogbia, De Paul, Lemar – Cunha, Correa
Last matches played by Atletico Madrid:
Copa del Rey
01/06 2022 – Rayo Majadahonda 0 – 5 Atletico Madrid
LaLiga
01/02 2022 – Atletico Madrid 2 – 0 Rayo Vallecano
12/22 2021 – Granada 2 – 1 Atletico Madrid
12/18 2021 – Sevilla 2 – 1 Atletico Madrid
12/12 2021 – Real Madrid 2 – 0 Atletico Madrid
Villarreal – Atletico Madrid Direct comparison / H2H record
Villarreal almost ended their negative streak against Atletico earlier this season. For seven games, the yellow submarine has waited for three points against the Rojiblancos. Worse still, Villarreal have failed to score in four of those seven games. However, four of those seven games ended in draws – which shows that the even odds in this match are justified and that the draw tip is also anything but far-fetched.
Villarreal – Atletico Madrid Tip
Atletico should be warned: Not only because Villarreal almost won 2-2 at the Wanda at the end of August. No team scores more home goals in La Liga than Villarreal – 24 goals in 10 games. Atletico have conceded 16 goals in their opponents’ stadium. That alone makes Villarreal vs Atletico an obvious prediction for both teams to score.
Atletico’s away misery (three defeats in a row away from home, only four wins in ten matches away from home) also suggests that we can expect an extremely close match – the outcome is open. Since neither a draw nor a narrow win for either team would surprise us, we stay away from the three-way and actually bet on seeing goals on both sides. We therefore give the prediction for Villarreal vs. Atletico Madrid at good odds of 1.87 that both teams will score.
