Espanyol vs. Villarreal 5/21/21 LaLiga Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Espanyol and Villarreal are clashing at RCDE Stadium in round 2 of the Spanish LaLiga. Espanyol is the newcomer to LaLiga, and they are in bad form right now. Espanyol has won only 1 of their last 8 games. Villarreal has been playing well, but that has not been visible in their results lately.

Espanyol has been struggling a lot in the preseason, and at the start of the new season, but they have had a positive result last week. Espanyol was playing against Osasuna in their season opener, and they have had 47% of ball possession, 3 shots on goal, 6 corner kicks, 1 big chance created, and 71% of the correct passes. This was a tough game for both teams, with a lot of fouls on both sides, and it ended like we expected, in a 0-0 draw. Now that Espanyol is back in LaLiga, they have a tough task ahead of them, and that is to stay in LaLiga after this season. Espanyol is a solid team, but I don’t see them much higher than the relegation zone in the standings, but I think they might pull it off.

Villarreal has won the Europa League last season, but they lost after the penalty shootout against Chelsea in the Euro Super Cup a couple of weeks ago. As far as their LaLiga opener goes, Villarreal was hosting Granada last weekend, and they were the dominant team with 61% of ball possession, 4 shots on goal, 6 corner kicks, 2 big chances created, and a solid 83% of the correct passes. Despite all of their chances, Villarreal just couldn’t score a goal, and in addition, they conceded a red card in the 82^nd minute. Both teams were solid defensively, and this game has ended in a 0-0 draw. Foyth is suspended from this game because of that red card. I think Villarreal is a fantastic team, they have a great offense, their defense is solid, and they will be playing in the Champions League this season. in LaLiga, I think Villarreal will be fighting for the Champions League spot, but I think they are close to 5^th place than 4^th place.

Villarreal hasn’t won any of their last 8 games overall, and they haven’t won any of their last 5 away games. Both teams have played a scoreless draw in their season opener, but Villarreal is the better team here, and I will side with them in this match.