Villareal will host Alaves with both teams struggling for form in La Liga. Villarreal and Alaves are presently ranked 16th and 17th in the league. Both have accumulated just eight points from their first nine games of 2023–24.
Preview (Villarreal vs. Alaves)
With two wins, two draws, and five losses from their nine league games this season, Villarreal has struggled to get going and is currently in 16th place with eight points less than its opponents. The Yellow Submarines placed sixth in the previous campaign and were predicted to go further up the league in 2023–24. Although that prediction may still hold true. The team has had a difficult start, with performances and outcomes falling short of expectations. Pacheta took over as head coach in early September in place of Quiet Setien. The team’s performance has not significantly improved.
Villarreal did manage to upset Rennes 1-0 in the Europa League at the beginning of the month. Their most recent league loss came against Las Palmas, 2-1. El Submarino Amarillo has only truly won two of their last four league games. Their lone victory in the top division of Spain came on September 16 at home against a struggling Almeria. Alaves, on the other hand, have played nine league games this season with the same record as Villarreal.
Luis Garcia’s team has only won two of their previous five league games. They will be more confident after their 1-1 draw with Real Betis before the international break. This season, they have struggled mightily to score goals. In nine games, they have only managed seven, the second-worst record after Las Palmas (six). Alaves should be confident going into this game because they have defeated Villarreal in two of their previous three La Liga encounters.
Team News
This next weekend, Villarreal will be without the injured Yemimi Pino, Francis Coquelin, and Denis Suarez; however, Alex Baena is back in action after serving a suspension. Jose Luis Morales is anticipated to enter the starting lineup in the last third of the field due to Pino’s injury, which occurred during the first half of the team’s most recent match against Las Palmas. Baena should also be back, and Gerard and Albert Moreno, who both started the game as substitutes, are competing for a position in the starting lineup.
Regarding Alaves, forward Giovanni Simeone, who is on loan from Atletico Madrid, is out for the season after suffering a major ankle injury in the preseason, and Javier Lopez is questionable because of an ankle injury of his own. The majority of the starting lineup that faced Real Betis at the start of the last game should start this one, with Luis Rioja and Alex Sola once more predicted to back up Mike Garcia at center forward. Villarreal would do well with a tenacious 1-0 victory in this match because, more than anything else, they need the outcome. Although Alaves can make it a difficult game, we think the home team will have enough talent to win the crucial three points on Sunday.
Villareal 1 – 0 Alaves
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