Villarreal vs Alaves
Spanish La Liga
Date: Sunday, 27th November, 2016.
Kick-Off: 11:00 UK
Venue: El Madrigal, Villarreal.
Alaves have made a reasonably good start to the season when you consider they haven’t played at this level for a decade. They’ve been more impressive away than at home in truth and have collected more points on the road than at home despite some really tough fixtures.
A draw at the Vicente Calderon and a win at Camp Nou were the obvious highlights and they’d also have got results at Valencia and Sevilla were it not for late goals, so they are well capable of making a game of this. They’ve only failed to score in one of their six away matches so far and therefore an away goal looks a distinct possibility here.
Villarreal have only kept one clean sheet in their last seven games which further backs that up. However, overall a home win still looks the most likely outcome. The Yellow Submarine have gone through a little bit of a rough patch overall but they’ve still been getting the job done at home in La Liga. They are chasing a 6th straight home league win here and boast the best home record in the division with an average of 2.67 points per game at El Madrigal.
Only two of those 5 wins were to nil though and they’ve also conceded in their two home Europa League games, so breaching the Villarreal defence is not an impossible mission. Alaves are a threat on the break and are in the habit of just nicking goals out of nothing on their travels. Villarreal certainly boast more firepower though with the likes of Sassone, Bakambu and Pato competing for places up front while they also have several midfielders who have a goal in them.
Therefore, the hosts should edge it and backing Villarreal to win and both teams to score at 10/3 looks like it could offer really good value here with the potential for big returns.
Villarreal vs Alaves: Head to Head Statistics
Games between Villarreal and Alaves in the past have always been tight to call. They have drawn just once in their previous 14 meetings in all competitions. Villarreal took 6 wins and Alaves picked 7 wins during the period.
While playing at El Madrigal, Villarreal have won in 4 of the last 5 games, with Alaves nicking one win. The meeting on Sunday will be the first La Liga meeting between the two since the 2005/16 season.
Villarreal vs Alaves: Prediction
The El Madrigal is a fortress for Villarreal and it has been the case in past season as well. They are unbeaten at home this season after registering 5 wins and a draw from the 6 league so far. The only time they failed to pick full points was when they met Sevilla on matchday 2 of the season. It is pretty clear that they will pick up all three points against a side like Alaves, who have lost 4 of their last 6 matches.
Villarreal vs Alaves: Bet Tips
Villarreal to win and Over 2.5 goals at 2.62 (13/8).
