Villarreal visit Girona, where they have regularly played important games and always won in the top flight (Saturday, 6:30pm CEST)
Villarreal CF visit Girona FC for an important match at Montilivi (Saturday, 6:30pm CEST). A tough venue, where the Submarine have played some of the most important matches in recent seasons. And, despite the high stakes, they have always managed to win in LALIGA EA Sports.
The Yellows need to win in Catalonia to stay in fifth position and to keep ahead of Real Betis in the fight for the Champions League. Marcelino’s side beat CA Osasuna (4-2) with a fantastic performance from Ayoze Pérez, Thierno Barry and Nicolas Pepe. The attackers offered an exhibition of offensive ability and talent. Álex Baena returned, impressing against the Navarran side with an assist for Pepe a minute after his return to the pitch. Another important return is undoubtedly that of Yeremy Pino. The winger missed the last match through when he was in his best form of the season. A goal from the Yellows No.21 gave the Submarine the win against Espanyol.
A final in the battles for the Champions League and survival
The final stretch of the season will be a heart-stopping one for the Submarine. Four games ahead to try to stay fifth in the standings and thus achieve the great prize of the Champions League. The Groguets are coming off the back of two consecutive wins at La Cerámica and will once again rely on their great away record to secure another vital win away from Vila-real.
With Athletic’s 0-0 draw at the Reale Arena and Betis’ last-gasp 1-2 win over Espanyol, the battle for the Champions League is more alive than ever. Two places for three contenders whose margin for error is slim. The teams that fail the least in the four remaining finals will win the precious spoils of the top continental competition.
For their part, Girona go into the game on the back of a 1-0 win at home to Mallorca. The Catalans had gone 11 games without a win, which had seen them drop to 15th place in the league. In front of their home fans, they changed the negative run and lifted the spirits of their supporters, warding off the spectre of relegation in a year in which they have played in the UEFA Champions League.
An impressive record for Villarreal at Montilivi
Montilivi is not an easy ground. It’s a ground where, by the quirks of fate, the Submarine have had to battle it out in recent seasons. Los Groguets have played five matches there in LALIGA, four of them in the final stretch of the championship. All of them have ended in victory. An impressive record that the Yellows will need to maintain if they are to remain in fifth place.
Samu Chukwueze, Nicolas Jackson and Bertrand Traoré led the Submarine to important victories in Girona. One of them vital to bring survival closer in the long-suffering 2018/19 campaign. Others were crucial in the Groguets’ race for European qualification, as would be the case this year.
In the first leg, played at La Cerámica, Los Groguets took a two-goal lead thanks to Thierno Barry and an Álex Baena strike, but Míchel’s side pulled one back in the last minute with a Ladislav Krejcí goal (2-2). In the last five meetings between the two sides, the Submarine have won three games, lost one and drawn one.
It is also worth noting that the Catalan side have a player on loan from Villarreal, Arnaut Danjuma, who has scored two goals for them.
