Villarreal vs Valencia La Liga Round 32 Odds & Betting Preview

• Its Matchday 32 in La Liga, including Villareal and Valencia battling it out for a European place
• Villareal still cling to the outside hope of sneaking a Champions League place
• We preview the game, look at the odds and offer a pick below

Villarreal entertains Valencia at the  Estadio de la Ceramica on Sunday, June 28 (KO 11am ET) in La Liga’s Matchday 32, with both teams harboring ambitions of European soccer next season. As things stand, the Yellow Submarine are sixth in the table, five points behind outside the Champions League places, while Valencia are eighth, just two points behind Villareal.

We’ll preview the game, look at their form, and see if we can find some value for the bettors.

Villarreal vs Valencia EPL Odds

Odds taken June 27.

Villarreal Still in Hunt for Champions League Place

The Yellow Submarine missed an opportunity to gain ground on the top four when they could only draw with fourth-placed Sevilla on Monday night, but three 1-0 wins leading up to that game – against Celta Vigo, Mallorca and Granada – have put them in a position to challenge for a Champions League place. With still seven games left to play, they’ll consider the gap close-able, especially if they can dispatch Valencia on Sunday.

In recent years, Villareal have enjoyed European campaigns on a regular basis – finishing fourth, fifth, and fifth in La Liga between 2015 and 2018 – but missed out last season by finishing a disappointing 14th. They’ll be desperate not to miss out again, with a Champions League campaign at the top of their wishlist.

Slow Restart for Valencia

Valencia came out of lockdown with similar ambitions – they too are a club who expects to be playing European soccer regularly – but since the restart have struggled and have only picked up four points from their four games. They have just a solitary win to their name, over Osasuna, picked up a point against Levante and lost to both Real Madrid and Eibar.

This was certainly not the time to have a dip in form and, currently, Los Che have fallen seven points adrift of the top four. A win, however, would see them leapfrog Villareal in the table and put themselves well and truly back in the mix.

Villarreal vs Valencia Head-to-Head Stats

Goalless at the Mestalla

Valencia have finished fourth in La Liga in each of the last two seasons, and had looked the most likely team to gatecrash the Barca, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid party, but have struggled to maintain that level this season. For them to miss out again on Champions League soccer would be a disappointment but for them to miss out on European soccer altogether would be a disaster. They need to rediscover some form before it’s too late and, realistically, dare not lose to Villareal.

Valencia do have recent successes against the Yellow Submarine to draw on, having won their last two encounters, including the reverse fixture at the Mestalla earlier in the season which they won 2-1, although in this corresponding fixture last season they drew 0-0.

Javi Calleja believes the Yellows need to stay focused for the rest of the season to get their aim. 💪https://t.co/oLZ3RAbdAi

— Villarreal CF English (@VillarrealCFen) June 26, 2020

More of the Same for Yellow Submarine

In team news, Villarreal will be without Manu Trigueros and Alberto Moreno, both of whom picked up yellow cards in the draw with Sevilla, and they’ll also be without Ramiro Funes Mori and Ramiro Guerra who are still injured. Generally, it’s expected that Javier Calleja will stick as close as he can to the team that played Sevilla.

The Yellow Submarine missed an opportunity to gain ground on the top four when they could only draw with fourth-placed Sevilla on Monday night

Valencia boss Albert Celades is more likely to ring the changes given their defeat by Eibar was as recently as Thursday night. Eliaquim Mangala definitely misses out after picking up a red card in that game and Mouctar Diakhaby, Francis Coquelin, Cristiano Piccini, and Ezequiel Garay are also still out through injury, but it’s possible Kevin Gameiro, Alessandro Florenzi, and Jaume Costa will be recalled.

Another Draw?

Villarreal start this one as favorites but are still in plus money. Not only do they have some good form on their side but also the fact their squad will be fresher having had three extra days rest – this could be crucial.

For their part, Valencia are approaching crunch time and cannot afford to let Villareal, or any of the teams above them, open up a wider gap. Defeat here could spell the end of their Champions League ambitions and so I expect a resolute, determined performance from them, one that may well see this end in a draw.

Pick: Villarreal and Valencia to draw (+215)