Does the yellow submarine show the limits to the fourth-division team?
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is history and the Albiceleste from South America could write themselves into the history books. Only a few hours after the dramatic World Cup final, games are already back in regular play in several parts of Europe. In Spain, for example, the second round of the King’s Cup is on the agenda. In the Copa del Rey, it comes to the “David versus Goliath duel” of Guijuelo and Villarreal. The bet on the yellow submarine from Villarreal is obvious and will be rewarded with a maximum of 1.20 on the three-way market.
The semi-finalists of the last Champions League season have not (yet) been able to match last year’s performance this season, but this does not change the clear role of favourites. The hosts at the Municipal de Guijuelo are not familiar to any fan, after all, they are a team that operates in the fourth highest division. The underdogs from the Salamanca region are doing exceptionally well there, but nobody believes in the big surprise. In order to achieve interesting odds, a prediction for a clear victory is necessary in the duel Guijuelo vs. Villarreal.
The yellow submarine gathered a lot of self-confidence at the end of the World Cup break and won two test matches.
Guijuelo – Statistics & current form
Club Deportivo Guijuelo is a club that was founded in 1974 and has left a big mark so far. The town of Guijuelo has a population of just under 5,600 and the home football stadium can accommodate 1,500 spectators. Tuesday night’s home match against the LaLiga club will be a highlight in the club’s history. It is only the club’s seventh ever appearance in the Copa del Rey, with their best performance so far coming in the 2016/17 season. They progressed through three knockout rounds before facing Atletico Madrid in the last 32 (aggregate score 1:10).
Guijuelo on his way back to the third division?
The Spanish substructure was extremely complicated until the end of the 2020/21 season. The third tier was divided into countless regional leagues, and the actual performance of the teams in the third tier was extremely variable as a result. In the season in question, the league reform came about and many a team had to accept direct relegation from League Three to the new fifth division – including CD Guijuelo.
Last season, however, the team was promoted to the fourth division in commanding fashion, and in the current season, head coach Mario Sanchez’s team is flirting with a return to the third division. After 15 league games, the team is in second place in the table, just two points behind leaders Arenteiro. Absolutely impressive is the home strength at the home oval. All seven league home games so far have been won, and the goal difference of 12:1 is absolutely impressive.
In the first round of the Copa del Rey, the former top club Deportivo La Coruna (now third division) was eliminated. Despite their home strength, another success is hard to imagine and between Guijuelo and Villarreal, predicting a favourites win without conceding is a good option. With 17 goals in 15 games, the Sanchez eleven is not necessarily an offensively strong team.
Predicted Guijuelo line-up:
Guzman – Florez, Aizpiri, Trapero, Piojo – Ibanez, David Lorenzo – Carmona, Alex Lorenzo, Garban – Toti
Last matches played by Guijuelo:
Segunda Federacion – Group 1
17/12/2022 – RS Gimnastica 2 – 2 Guijuelo
10/12/2022 – Guijuelo 3 – 1 Bergantinos CF
04/12/2022 – Coruxo FC 0 – 1 Guijuelo
26/11/2022 – Guijuelo 1 – 0 Polvorin FC
20/11/2022 – Real Oviedo B 2 – 1 Guijuelo
Villarreal – Statistics & current form
The fans of the yellow submarine were allowed to cheer on Sunday evening. With goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli and right-back Juan Foyth, Villarreal have two world champions in their own ranks. The duo did not play a major part in the triumph, as Rulli did not appear at all and Foyth only played a few minutes. However, the fans will have to wait a little longer for their first appearance as world champions, as the players were of course granted extra leave. Giovani Lo Celso would be the third world champion in the bunch, but had to cancel his participation due to injury and will also miss the cup.
Crisis overcome – Villarreal with upward form
Internationally, the yellow submarine has to bake smaller bread this season and is only represented in the UEFA Europa Conference League. Although they managed to win their group, the autumn of 2022 was not particularly satisfactory, as the team is only in ninth place in the Spanish LaLiga. After the departure of Unai Emery to Aston Villa, ex-Barcelona coach Quique Setien was hired as his successor. The 64-year-old started disappointingly, but was able to turn things around in the end with two victories.
During the World Cup break, the new head coach was very satisfied with the development of the team and was able to confirm this in terms of results with three wins in four preparatory matches. Especially the victories against former coach Unai Emery’s team, Aston Villa, and the success on Saturday in Naples underline the upward trend. Top striker Gerard Moreno is finally 100% fit again and is expected to make up for his poor chances so far.
In the first round of the Copa del Rey, Setien’s team celebrated a brilliant 9:0 victory against an underdog. The game in Guijuelo will certainly be a more difficult task, but there are no signs that a surprise is in the offing. Rather, between Guijuelo and Villarreal, the odds can be considered for predicting a handicap win.
Predicted line-up of Villarreal:
Pepe Reina – Mojica, Mandi, Albiol, Kiko Femenia – Baena, Capoue, Trigueros – Chukwueze, Moreno, Jackson
Last matches played by Villarreal:
Friendly club matches
18/12/2022 – SSC Napoli 2 – 3 Villarreal FC
16/12/2022 – Aston Villa 0 – 1 Villarreal FC
06/12/2022 – Galatasaray 3 – 4 Villarreal FC
03/12/2022 – Fenerbahçe 2 – 1 Villarreal FC
Copa del Rey
13/11/2022 – Santa Amalia 0 – 9 Villarreal FC
Guijuelo – Villarreal Direct comparison / H2H-balance
Little surprise there is nothing to report on the direct comparison, as CD Guijuelo and the yellow submarine from Villarreal face each other for the first time in the second round of the 2022/23 Copa del Rey.
Guijuelo – Villarreal Tip
The fourth-division side must definitely be considered a very strong home team, having won all eight of their home games across the competition. CD Guijuelo even conceded only one goal. Despite these impressive figures, we will refrain from betting on the home side between Guijuelo and Villarreal. Villarreal usually take the cup competition very seriously and have shown strong test match results in recent days.
Quique Setien will not want to put the recent upward momentum on the game after a poor start as Villarreal coach and accordingly will not be experimenting. With the necessary attitude, the winner in this duel can only be the yellow submarine. The strong-playing guests will show the host the limits and a clear success is also quite obvious. Therefore, five units between Guijuelo and Villarreal are recommended with the prediction “Villarreal -2.5”. A win to nil as well as the bet that not both teams will score are also good possibilities for a bet.
