Villarreal vs Manchester City Match Preview

Thank you to DAZBY in Oz for doing Spain.

Hola! Manchester City travel to Eastern Spain as they take on Villarreal in Matchday 4 of the Champions League. At the halfway stage of the group phase both clubs are making up the numbers in 3rd and 4th place. Manchester City have a draw, a loss and a win to show for it’s labours. Villarreal have lost all three matches, including a last minute defeat to City in the previous round. A Europa League place is still possible with a turnaround in results but it appears that they are just making up the numbers. Although City is in third place, a strong run of results could propel them to the top of the group.

Villarreal are a club punching well above their weight. The 88 year old club were promoted to the Primera Liga for the first time in 1998. After yo-yoing the following two seasons the club not only survived but thrived in Spain’s top flight. With astute signing of quality South American imports and quality coaching appointments Villarreal have finished no worse than 7th since the 2003-4 season. Their enthusiasm for European competition has allowed them to attract quality players despite being a smaller club than some of their counterparts. Home ground El Madrigal has a capacity of 25,000. The Yellow Submarines as they are colloquially called, have come a long way in a short time.

The game.

City has got him back from suspension. Yes, the high fiving, darts throwing money giving goal scoring Mario “why always me” Balotelli is available for selection. Considering he didn’t play in the weekend victory against Wolves would suggest that he’ll start. Nigel De Jong and James Milner were also high profile absentees on the weekend which suggests they’ll start.

Villareal continued their inconsistent season with a 2-0 home win over midtable Rayo Vallecano- their second league win for the season. Marcos Senna missed a penalty in a match where the home team only had 42% possession. The win lifted the Yellow Submarine out of the relegation zone and should give the side some confidence leading into this fixture. They’ll need it as they are missing star striker Giuseppe Rossi who is out for 6 months after injuring cruciate ligaments in a recent match against Real Madrid. The weight of expectation falls on Nilmar to add to his 2 goals for the season.

Odds.

Villarreal 5.00 Draw 3.75 Man City 1.62

Despite Villarreal’s encouraging performance at Etihad Stadium it is difficult to predict a win for the home team. Rossi was their best attacking threat and his injury makes it difficult to work out where a goal could come from. At the other end they’ve kept only 3 clean sheets in their past 13 matches.

Meanwhile City has gone from strength to strength. The blues are top of the table in the domestic league and have progressed in the league cup. The Champions League is perhaps the only competition where the club haven’t shown total confidence. Despite this, the last minute winner against Villarreal could be a catalyst for improvement in the competition as City come to grips with the rigours of European competition. City will be deserved favourites for this match. Any other result will be a major upset.

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