Valencia vs Villarreal Match Preview & Predictions

Valencia vs Villarreal match preview and predictions for Friday’s LaLiga match. Read on for the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups ahead of this regional derby.

Valencia vs Villarreal Preview

A derby clash in the Valencian region of Spain kicks off the weekend’s LaLiga action. Villarreal have firmly established themselves as the pride of this part of the world this season, and in truth their most likely competition comes from Levante rather than Valencia. That will hurt followers of Los Che who will be hoping their team can at least restore some regional pride here.

Valencia’s season hit another real low point last time out. They were torn apart by a woefully out of form Getafe side, losing 3-0 at the Coliseum with Mouctar Diakhaby’s red card compounding the misery for Javi Gracia’s side. Rumours about his future persist with only the cost of sacking him, seemingly keeping the former Watford boss in a job for now.

On a slightly more positive note for Valencia, they have at least started to generate a few results at home. They’ve won their last two at Mestalla, seeing off Celta Vigo and Elche to nil. Those victories ensure they have still got a five point cushion on the bottom three and they’d move level on points with 10th placed Athletic with victory here.

As for Villarreal, their league form is starting to become a genuine cause for concern. They looked certs for a top six finish during the first half of the campaign with Unai Emery making a positive and immediate impact at the Ceramica. However despite a couple of good Europa league showings against RB Salzburg last month, they’ve now gone 7 without a win in LaLiga and they have dropped to 7th, two points below Betis.

They were beaten 2-0 at home by leaders Atletico Madrid last time out having drawn 5 of their previous 6 league matches. Injuries to Vicente Iborra and Francis Coquelin do look to have upset the balance of the team in midfield while they are perhaps a bit too reliant on Gerard Moreno for attacking inspiration.

? Javi Gracia: "We are all committed and motivated for our ambition to improve"

— Valencia CF ??? (@valenciacf_en) March 4, 2021

Head to Head

• Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 4 Valencia Wins, 2 Villarreal Wins.
• Valencia have won the last 3 meetings at Mestalla.
• Villarreal’s last success here came via a 1-0 win in 2017.
• The Yellow Submarine won the reverse fixture 2-1 earlier this term with Dani Parejo and Paco Alcacer both on target against their old club.

Team News

Mouctar Diakhaby is suspended for Valencia after his red card last week. Denis Cheryshev is rated doubtful.

Villarreal have fitness concerns over Yeremi Pino and Rubén Peña.

Predicted Valencia Starting Lineup:

Cillessen – Gaya, Guillamon, Paulista, Correia – Yunus, Racic, Soler, Wass – Kang-In, Gomez (4-4-2)

Predicted Villarreal Starting Lineup:

Asenjo – Pedraza, Torres, Albiol, Foyth – Parejo, Capoue, Trigueros – Gomez, Alcacer, Gerard (4-3-3)

Valencia vs Villarreal Predictions

LaLiga Expert Predicts: Valencia 1-1 Villarreal (follow us on Tipstrr to view our betting tips)

Valencia’s improved home form suggests they will at least avoid defeat here against a Villarreal side that has forgotten how to win in LaLiga. However a draw does look more likely than a home win particularly given the visitors are the Spanish top flight’s undisputed draw specialists.

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