Girona achieved their main goal a week ago in the derby against “Bar?a” (4:2). Naturally, there were celebrations, loud words — of course, it’s the club’s first Champions League in history. So, now that the goal has been achieved, what’s left to play for? On Alaves’ field, the Catalans weren’t aiming to win at any cost but rather to entertain themselves and the fans. As a result, they missed 3-4 clear chances due to complacency and conceded in the last minute (2:2). And this was against “Alaves,” mind you. Playing in such a manner against “Villarreal” would be even more painful. Has “Girona” learned their lesson? If so, they’ll play more compactly, tougher, and increase their concentration. “Villarreal” stylistically resembles Michel’s team, but they’re more effective (75 goals), strong at home (only 1 defeat to “Real”), and have only minor injuries, with Stuani being the only non-starter.
The Yellow Submarine had a rough start to the first half of La Liga, but after Marcelino’s appointment and January transfers, the team came alive. In their last 5 matches, they’ve earned 10 points. “Villarreal” understands that failure now would mean missing out on European competitions, so they’ll be on the attack. They boast the league’s 5th best attack (59 goals), and they know how to use it. Alexander Sorloth has scored 19 goals in La Liga — just one goal less than our Artem Dovbyk. Moreover, both of them are in excellent form — the Ukrainian has scored 7 goals in the last 10 matches, while the Norwegian has scored 8. The problems for “Villarreal”? Defense. They’ve kept clean sheets only twice since the beginning of March and have conceded a whopping 60 goals overall. That’s the level of teams in the relegation zone. Most of the defensive lapses for “The Yellow Submarine” have occurred away from home — for example, at the “Velodrome,” where they were humiliated by the not-so-strong “Marseille” (4:0).
