Villarreal vs Dynamo Kyiv predictions and match preview for Thursday’s game in the UEFA Europa League. Read on for the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups as the Yellow Submarine target a place in the Quarter Finals.
- DATE: Thursday 18th March 2021
- KICK-OFF: 21:00 (CET)
- VENUE: Ceramica
- COMPETITION: UEFA Europa League Last 16, 2nd Leg
- Villarreal lead 2-0 on aggregate.
Villarreal vs Dynamo Kyiv Preview
Villarreal are well placed to reach the Quarter-Finals of the UEFA Europa League heading into the 2nd Leg of their last 16 tie against Dynamo Kyiv. 2-0 up from the 1st Leg, this should be a relative formality for the Yellow Submarine who are making good progress on their return to European football after a year away.
Unai Emery is certainly a factor in that. He largely formed his managerial reputation by winning this competition three years running with Sevilla between 2014 and 2016. While he has come under some pressure due to Villarreal’s poor domestic form, their league finishing position would become irrelevant were they to go all their way in this competition and claim silverware for the first time.
That won’t be easy with a strong Premier League contingent and the Quarter-Final is likely to be tougher whoever they are paired with. The 1st Leg of this tie was relatively comfortable for Villarreal though as centre-backs Raul Albiol and Pau Torres were the unlikely goalscorers in a 2-0 victory. They backed that up with a much-needed league win at Eibar at the weekend to bolster their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Europa League.
Dynamo Kyiv’s European season has been severely hindered by both COVID-19 outbreaks and injury problems. The latter left them short of full strength in the 1st Leg of this tie and it certainly showed with the Spanish side the dominant force throughout much of the game.
They have got Denys Popov and Viktor Tsgankov available again here but they are still some way short of full strength and it would be a huge surprise if they found a serious path back into this tie. Dynamo come into the game after a 2-0 win in the league at the weekend and they are likely to soon be able to focus solely on trying to pip rivals Shakhtar Donetsk to the title in Ukraine.
Head to Head
- Villarreal won the 1st Leg 2-0 in Kiev last week.
- The sides hadn’t previously met in 16 years since a UEFA Cup tie in 2005.
- The Kyiv leg ended goalless before Villarreal advanced with a 2-0 win in the return.
Team News
Francis Coquelin and Ruben Pena are nearing fitness but may not be risked here. Raul Albiol should return in defence having missed the trip to Eibar.
Denys Popov and Viktor Tsgankov are back for Dynamo but they are still missing six first team squad members.
Predicted Villarreal Starting Lineup:
Rulli – Pedraza, Albiol, Torres, Costa – Parejo, Capoue, Trigueros – Gomez, Alcacer, Gerard (4-3-3)
Predicted Dynamo Kyiv Starting Lineup:
Bushchan – Mykolenko, Zabarnyi, Popov, Kedziora – Rodrigues, Shapenko, Sydorchuk, Tsygankov – Buyalskiy – Besedin (4-4-1-1)
Villarreal vs Dynamo Kyiv Predictions
Score Prediction: Villarreal 2-0 Dynamo Kyiv (Villarreal win 4-0 on aggregate)
Villarreal should finish the job with relatively little alarm here. They were impressive in the 1st Leg, as they have been for much of the season in Europe. We may see some light rotation in one or two positions but Unai Emery won’t take too many chances and is likely to start key men such as Dani Parejo and Gerard Moreno. They ought to be too strong for Dynamo again.
UEFA Europa League Betting Tips (18+)
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