Espanyol were one of La Liga’s early-season surprises, sitting fifth before the Christmas break with a 10–3–4 record and within five points of a Champions League spot despite having games in hand. However, their results appeared stronger than their performances suggested, and a slowdown was expected.

Since Christmas, Espanyol have struggled, going winless in five matches (0–1–4, goals 4–10), mostly against lower-ranked opponents. More concerning is that they’ve been clearly second-best in chance creation during this run. Despite still being sixth in the table, their underlying form points closer to mid-table.

Espanyol results and xG on 2026:

Villarreal, tonight’s hosts, also started the season well and remain fourth even without a league win since early January. Their points tally may be slightly inflated, but their home form has been excellent (8 wins from 11, goals 23–9). Espanyol’s away record is still solid at 4–3–3, but strongly weakening.

Villarreal could be missing several players due to injuries and suspension, which slightly weakens them. Espanyol are without a few names as well, though mainly long-term absentees.

Villarreal are attack-minded, but the main reason is Espanyol’s recent defensive issues — they’ve been conceding heavily and may struggle again away from home, and I see Villarreal scoring 2 or 3 goals tonight.

Good luck!

西班牙人是西甲赛季初的惊喜之一，在圣诞假期前以10胜3负的战绩排名第五，尽管还有比赛要打，但距离欧冠席位只有5分的差距。然而，他们的业绩似乎比他们的表现所显示的要强劲，而且预计增长会放缓。

自圣诞节以来，西班牙人一直在挣扎，五场比赛（0胜1负，4球10负）没有获胜，主要是对阵排名较低的对手。更令人担忧的是，他们在这轮比赛中创造的机会显然是第二好的。尽管他们仍然排在积分榜的第六位，但他们的基本状态已经接近中游了。

2026年西班牙人的结果和xG：

比利亚雷亚尔，今晚的东道主，本赛季开局也不错，尽管自1月初以来没有取得联赛胜利，但仍然排名第四。他们的积分可能有点夸张，但他们的主场状态非常好（11胜8负，进球23-9）。西班牙人的客场战绩依然稳定在4-3-3，但明显减弱。

由于伤病和停赛，比利亚雷亚尔可能会缺席几名球员，这稍微削弱了他们的实力。西班牙人队也没有几个名字，尽管主要是长期缺阵。

比利亚雷亚尔有进攻意识，但主要原因是西班牙人最近的防守问题——他们丢了很多球，可能会在客场再次挣扎，我认为比利亚雷亚尔今晚会进2到3个球。

好运！