The Submarine will be looking to get back to winning ways against the Catalan side (Thursday, 7.30pm CEST)
Villarreal face RCD Espanyol at the Estadio de la Cerámica this Thursday at 7.30pm CEST. The match, corresponding to Gameweek 31 of the 2022/23 LaLiga Santander season, is a golden opportunity for the Yellows to break the poor run of results from their recent matches against Real Valladolid (1-2) and Sevilla FC (2-1).
After an unblemished March and start to April for the Yellows in LaLiga – with major victories against Real Sociedad and Real Madrid, among others – the two defeats put a halt to the Yellows’ upward momentum, who were four points behind the fourth place that gives them access to the Champions League.
However, Quique Setién’s side remain firmly in the fight for the European places. Villarreal are currently sixth in the Spanish top flight with 47 points, one ahead of Athletic Club (46) in seventh, one behind Real Betis (48) in fifth and seven behind Real Sociedad (54) in fourth.
Facing them will be a desperate RCD Espanyol, who arrive at the Estadio de la Cerámica in an emergency situation after failing to win since 19th February against Mallorca (2-1), a situation that has pushed the Catalan side down to 19th place on 28 points, two points behind Almería, who are in the survival zone.
The Catalan side will be led by Luís García, who was announced as the club’s head coach on 3rd April, but has yet to record a win after losing to Real Betis (3-1) and being held to a 0-0 draw by Cádiz.
Villarreal have very positive memories of the first leg at the RCDE Stadium. On 9th November 2022, Villarreal 0-1 in what was Quique Setién’s first victory as head coach of the Submarine. Also, the last match held at the Estadio de la Cerámica against Espanyol saw Yeremy Pino be the star of the show, scoring four goals in Villarreal’s 5-1 victory.
Overall, Villarreal’s record against RCD Espanyol in LaLiga is positive. Of the 43 matches they have played against each other in the top flight, the Yellows have won 16, drawn 20 and lost the remaining seven.
This Thursday, two teams with different objectives meet on the La Cerámica pitch, but with a clear mission: to get three points from three to break the negative dynamic they are going through and face the last matches of the season with optimism.
Two 10s taking on each other
Two players to watch out for in next Thursday’s game are Dani Parejo and Sergi Darder. The Villarreal midfielder is the player with the most passes in LaLiga with 1929 passes -the second is Pau Torres with 1441- and a key player in the Cantabrian coach’s schemes. The Yellows No.10 is, with 3232 minutes, the player who has played more times in for the Yellows this season than any other player in the squad.
Sergi Darder’s case is similar to that of Dani Parejo. The player is also the player who has played the most minutes for his club this year with a total of 2664. In addition, Darder plays a fundamental role in the offensive production of his team, as he totals five goals and three assists to date and is a key player in the development of his team’s play.
