Villarreal vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv predictions and match preview for Thursday’s game in the UEFA Europa League. Read on for the head-to-head and analysis as the top two in this group meet.
- KICK-OFF: 21:00 (local time)
- VENUE: Estadio Ceramica
- COMPETITION: UEFA Europa League (Group Stage)
Villarreal vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv Preview
Two sides with 100% records meet in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night. Villarreal and Maccabi Tel-Aviv commence a double-header which is likely to determine the winner of this group. Unai Emery will be hungry to win this match, which would all but secure qualification and enable him to rest key players in all of his team’s remaining group fixtures.
The early signs are pretty good for Emery’s Villarreal. They’ve taken 15 points from their opening 8 league fixtures on top of their 100% start in Europe with Barcelona the only team to defeat them so far this season. Unlike many teams they’ve also managed to turn their empty home stadium into something of a fortress with 5 straight wins at the Estadio Ceramica in all competitions heading into this fixture.
Maccabi Tel-Aviv are also looking very good to progress from this group. The Israeli side beat Qarabag 1-0 at home before a vital 2-1 win in Turkey against Sivasspor last time out. That match did tilt in their favour when the Turkish side were reduced to 10 men and conceded a penalty with 22 minutes to go with Sivasspor leading at the time.
Maccabi are yet to win any of their league games this season though and Villarreal shouldn’t really have too much to fear from them. Emery has a decent sized squad which should allow him to rotate and still win this match with some breathing space and they did leave the likes of Take Kubo and Pervis Estupinan on the bench in the victory over Real Valladolid at the weekend which should give him some fresh legs to bring in.
Head to Head
- The sides’ only previous meetings came in the 2017/18 Europa League group stage.
- They drew 0-0 in Israel while Maccabi won 1-0 at the Ceramica.
- Despite those results, Villarreal still topped that group while Maccabi finished bottom.
Villarreal vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv Predictions
Score Prediction: Villarreal 3-1 Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Villarreal’s opening two group games have produced a total of 12 goals and we should see plenty of chances in this game too. The central defence is one area where they do seem to lack a bit of depth which will be a worry as we move deeper into this competition but Maccabi are unlikely to really punish them and the Yellow Submarine should have enough firepower to win the game.
UEFA Europa League Betting Tips (18+)
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