Villarreal vs Valencia Preview: Team News & Prediction
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We have a regional derby taking place at El Madrigal this weekend as top four chasing Villarreal, with former Valencia boss Marcelino at the helm, take on a relegation battling Valencia side.
Kick-off date/time: Saturday 15th February, 2025: UK – 8:00pm / US ET – 3:00pm / US PT – 12:00pm
How to watch on TV: UK – Premier Sports / US – ESPN have the exclusive rights to La Liga games in the USA, so Villarreal vs Valencia may be televised on one of their affiliated channels
How to watch online: UK – Premier Sports / US – ESPN+
Villarreal Preview: Pushing for the top four
Villarreal begin the 24th match day of the 2024/25 La Liga campaign sitting just four points outside of the top four and the UEFA Champions League qualifying spots and, albeit this is probably irrelevant, they sit ten points adrift of league leaders Real Madrid, too.
The Yellow Submarine come into this one on the back of a 2-1 win over Las Palmas in the Canary Islands las weekend thanks to goals from Alex Baena and Ayoze Perez. They have collected ten points from their last four matches in the league.
Valencia Preview: Improvement under Carlos Corberan
Following the appointment of West Bromwich Albion boss Carlos Corberan during the winter break, Valencia have been much-improved in terms of their performance level, as well as their results, although they do remain in the bottom three and the relegation places.
The Valencians come into this one on the back of winning three of their last four matches in La Liga, most recently defeating Leganes by two goals to nil at Mestalla last weekend thanks to first-half goals from defensive duo Cristhian Mosquera and Mouctar Diakhaby.
Villarreal Team News: A few injuries
Villarreal are dealing with a few key doubts this weekend including former Manchester United defender Willy Kambwala and club captain Gerard Moreno. Morocco international attacking midfielder Ilias Akhomach is sidelined until the end of the season due to an ACL injury.
Predicted XI (4-4-2): Conde; Kiko Femenia, Foyth, Costa, Sergi Cardona; Yeremy Pino, Santi Comesana, Gueye, Alex Baena; Ayoze Perez, Barry
Unavailable: Akhomach (Injured)
Questionable: Kambwala (Injured), Alfonso Pedraza (Injured), Gerard (Injured)
Valencia Team News: Barrenechea suspension
Aston Villa loanee Enzo Barrenechea is unavailable for Valencia this weekend as he deals with a suspension. Centre-back Thierry Correia is also sidelined for Valencia due to a knee injury, whilst striker Rafa Mir is also a doubt.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Mamardashvili; Cristhian Mosquera, Carlos Tarrega, Diakhaby, Jose Luis Gaya; Javi Guerra, Pepelu; Luis Rioja, Diego Lopez, Almeida; Hugo Duro
Unavailable: Correia (Injured), Barrenechea (Suspended)
Questionable: Rafa Mir (Injured)
Villarreal vs Valencia Prediction
Villarreal, as mentioned, have been much-improved this season as they chase a return to the UEFA Champions League. They have done so by being entertaining to watch, too, with their 23 La Liga matches have consisted of 80 goals. They now face a Valencia side that are playing a bit more on the front foot with the intense pressing style of the aforementioned Carlos Corberan. Both teams scoring seems a good bet for this derby game.
Villarreal vs Valencia Tip: Both teams to score
