Valencia – Villarreal : Preview & Prediction
There will be a lot at stake in this derby of the Comunitat, especially for Valencia, who last Sunday lost 2-1 away to Cádiz, one of their rivals in the fight for relegation. The defeat at the Nuevo Mirandilla, the seventeenth suffered by the ches in LaLiga Santander (LL) 2022-23, came after two consecutive victories and makes them face the derby with no margin for error. Speaking to Dazn, Hugo Duro lamented his team’s lack of attitude in the opening stretch of the clash against Cádiz, but was hopeful for the upcoming matches. “We still depend on ourselves. We will surely compete until the end,” said the striker of the black-and-white team, with a margin of two points above relegation.
The atmosphere at Mestalla will be one of maximum tension, but the ‘ches’ supporters have galvanized their team in the fight to retain the category; Valencia have lost just one of their last five home league games (G3, E1). Having won the last five derbies played at Mestalla against Wednesday’s opponents, the team from the capital of the Turia should believe in their chances of taking an important step towards salvation.
Sitting in fifth place with 20 points more (53) than their hosts (33), Villarreal enjoy the status of favorites in this derby despite their recent negative record at Mestalla. Victorious in the last two matchdays, the groguet team maintains the hope of achieving a place in the next edition of the Champions League.
The Castellon squad, which has not finished in the top four since 2015-16, will be looking to increase or at least maintain the pressure on Real Sociedad (4th, 58th), who host Real Madrid on Tuesday. Quique Setién’s side has had excellent results in its duels against clubs ranked between 16th and last going into Matchday 33 (G7, E1, P1).
Key battle: Valencia need Edinson Cavani to snap the worst scoreless streak of his career. Without having scored a single goal in LL in 2023, the veteran Uruguayan striker has not scored since opening the scoring in the derby against Villarreal on 31 December (VIL 2-1 VAL). For the Yellow Submarine, it was Juan Foyth who scored the winning goal in that derby. The Argentine full-back picked up a yellow in the derby and has been cautioned in three of his last five LL matches.
Notable streak: In each of the last official derbies between Valencia and Villarreal, the winner has scored exactly two goals.
Valencia – Villarreal : Betting Tips
BTS/YES Odds: 2.25
