Villarreal welcome Espanyol at the Estadio de la Cerámica for a round of La Liga matches on Thursday night. Villarreal are currently placed on the 6th position, occupying the last European places spot, in the league table with 47 points from 30 games played. Villarreal were beaten 2-1 by Sevilla in their last outing. Meanwhile, Espanyol are engulfed in the relegation battle as they occupy the 19th position in the league table with 28 points after same number of games as Villarreal. They were held to a goalless draw by Cadiz in their last game. The loss against Sevilla made it the second loss in a row for Villarreal, after they had been on a winning streak. Villarreal will be seeking to come out of the slump immediately and maintain their push for European places as they are just a point above 7th placed Athletic Bilbao. I am expecting a win for Villarreal for the following reasons:

Firstly. Espanyol do not seem to have the firepower to match Villarreal at the moment. They have been in a slump for a while now, as they have not won any match since February. Their last win was a 2-1 win against Mallorca. Since then, they have lost their subsequent six games in a row, before they drew 0-0 with Cadiz in their last outing. Their major problem has been their defensive shortcomings. Too many defensive mistakes have been committed, and time and time again their defensive line was caught napping on quick counter-attacks. They conceded multiple goals in each of those losses.

Secondly. Villarreal have been fairly impressive this season. They have maintained a couple of unbeaten and winning records during the season. This is why they are in the 6th place, two points behind 5th placed Betis. They were on a three game winning streak before their double losses to Real Valladolid and Sevilla. They will need to bounce back this week, and playing the out of form Espanyol presents a perfect opportunity to do that. Samuel Chukwueze has stepped up for Villarreal this season, and he will be sure to make his mark in this encounter. Having him in his present form is a big advantage to Villarreal.

Espanyol have been in a rot recently. Despite their recent 0-0 draw with fellow strugglers, Cadiz, they do not have enough quality to match Villarreal. Villarreal should be winning this encounter.

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比利亚雷亚尔将于周四晚上在Cerámica球场迎来西班牙人队的一轮西甲比赛。比利亚雷亚尔目前在联赛中以30场比赛47分的成绩排名第6，占据了欧洲最后一个席位。比利亚雷亚尔在上一场比赛中被塞维利亚2-1击败。与此同时，西班牙人队在与比利亚雷亚尔队比赛次数相同的情况下，以28分排名联赛第19位，陷入了保级战。他们在上一场比赛中被加的斯逼平。输给塞维利亚是比利亚雷亚尔在连胜之后的第二场失利。比利亚雷亚尔将寻求立即走出低谷，继续他们的欧洲席位的努力，因为他们只比排名第七的毕尔巴鄂竞技多一分。我期待比利亚雷亚尔获胜，原因如下:

首先。西班牙人目前似乎没有火力对抗比利亚雷亚尔。他们已经有一段时间处于低迷状态了，自从二月份以来他们一场比赛都没赢过。他们上一场胜利是2-1战胜马洛卡。从那以后，他们连续输掉了六场比赛，直到他们在最后一场比赛中0-0战平加的斯。他们的主要问题是防守上的缺点。他们在防守上犯了太多的错误，他们的防线一次又一次地在快速反击中打瞌睡。他们在每一场失利中都丢了多个球。

其次。比利亚雷亚尔本赛季表现相当出色。他们在本赛季保持了几次不败和胜利的记录。这就是为什么他们排在第6位，落后第5的贝蒂斯2分。在两连败皇家巴利亚多利德和塞维利亚之前，他们取得了三连胜。他们需要在本周反弹，而对阵状态不佳的西班牙人队是一个完美的机会。萨缪尔·楚克韦兹本赛季已经为比利亚雷亚尔出场，他一定会在这场比赛中留下自己的印记。拥有他现在的状态对比利亚雷亚尔来说是一个很大的优势。

西班牙人最近陷入了混乱。尽管他们最近0-0战平了同队的加的斯，但是他们没有足够的实力对抗比利亚雷亚尔。比利亚雷亚尔应该会赢得这场比赛。