Villarreal vs Slavia Prague
Competition: UEFA Europa League
Date: 19 October 2017
Kick-off: 21:05 CET
Villarreal were coming from back-to-back negative results in Spain’s LaLiga when they visited Maccabi Tel Aviv three weeks ago, it was an away game, a draw wouldn’t be a bad result for them, so instead of betting on them to win (2.00), I went with Maccabi’s double chance (1.80), and the game did end in a goalless draw. They have definitely gotten their act together since then, they beat Eibar at home, last weekend they beat Girona as well, they are one of the only three LaLiga teams to have six points from their last two matches, and they have climbed 13th on the table, looking like the well above-average Villarreal people are rather used to seeing.
I have to admit I was impressed by Slavia Prague three weeks ago, watching them dominate their game at Astana. Even though I had bet against them, I loved their gutsy way of playing, their overall attitude, stepping on the gas right from the first minutes, and keeping their foot there until the final whistle. They drew, “just” drew, in a game they deserved to win, and all in all, their display, combined with their 1-0 win over Maccabi on the opening day of the group stage, leaves me with no doubt that they have what it takes to be in the top two after the final matches of the group. They won both their games in Czechia’s championship since their 1-1 draw in Kazakhstan, but despite their 22 points from 10 matches (not a bad tally), they are second in the table, eight whole points(!) behind leaders Viktoria Plzen, who are still to drop a single point this season in their championship.
Previous five matches:
Girona vs Villarreal 1-2
Villarreal vs Eibar 3-0
Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Villarreal 0-0
Getafe vs Villarreal 4-0
Villarreal vs Espanyol 0-0
Karvina vs Slavia 0-2
Slavia vs Zbrojovka Brno 2-0
Astana vs Slavia 1-1
Zlin vs Slavia 1-1
Slavia vs Trinec 5-1
Villarreal’s next game is on Sunday, again at home, versus Las Palmas (Spain LaLiga). Same day, Slavia will be hosting Slovan Liberec (Czech Republic championship).
Villarreal vs Slavia Prague: Head to head Stats
This is the first game ever between these two.
Villarreal vs Slavia Prague: Prediction
As previously mentioned, Villarreal have back-to-back wins in LaLiga, but (important “but”), you need to take into consideration whom they beat. Both Eibar and Girona are among the weakest sides of the league. The point I’m trying to make is, sure, Villarreal are on the rise (compared to how poor they had looked in their two previous games before traveling to Israel to face Maccabi), but against a more than decent team like Slavia, I feel their win’s 1.40 is ridiculously poor, and I’m happy to go against it, despite acknowledging that the hosts have the team to win this game.
Villarreal vs Slavia Prague: Betting Tips
Slavia’s double chance pays a fantastic 3.00, and I like it a lot, for reasons already explained. Draw alone pays 4.50, it’s obviously even more risky than Slavia’s double chance, but I’m going with that 3.00, considering it more than enough.
More UEFA Europa League betting tips and match previews:
- Vardar Skopje vs Real Sociedad
- Lugano vs Viktoria Plzen
- Ostersunds vs Athletic Bilbao
- Hapoel Beer Sheva vs FCSB
- Nice vs Lazio
- Zorya vs Hertha Berlin
- Austria Vienna vs Rijeka
- Konyaspor vs Salzburg
- Zenit St Petersburg vs Rosenborg
- Marseille vs Vitoria Guimaraes
- Skenderbeu vs Partizan Belgrade
- Crvena Zvezda vs Arsenal
- Astana vs Maccabi Tel Aviv
- Dynamo Kiev vs Young Boys
- Everton vs Lyon
- AC Milan vs AEK Athens
- Atalanta vs Apollon Limassol
- TSG Hoffenheim vs Istanbul Basaksehir
- BATE Borisov vs FC Koln
- Sheriff Tiraspol vs Lokomotiv Moscow
- Zlin vs FC Copenhagen
- Sporting Braga vs Ludogorets Razgrad
- Zulte-Waregem vs Vitesse
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