La Liga matchday 23 clash between Villarreal vs Espanyol will take place on 9 February at the Estadio de la Ceramica. Villarreal vs Espanyol: prediction, betting odds and statistics.
Villarreal
A week ago, Villarreal shared the points away to Osasuna (2:2), thereby extending their winless run in La Liga to three matches (one draw, two defeats). Villarreal had not gone on such a stretch since November-December 2024. The drop-off has been fairly sharp, given that before that the team had recorded eight wins in their previous nine league games. As a result, the gap to leaders Barcelona has grown to 16 points. Still, Villarreal are only three points off third place for now, and they also have a game in hand.
- In the current La Liga season, Villarreal have scored 39 goals in total — only Real Madrid (47) and Barcelona (63) have more.
- The team’s uncompromising home run in this competition has reached six matches (four wins, two defeats).
- Villarreal have failed to keep a clean sheet in six La Liga matches.
Potential Villarreal Lineup (4-4-2)*
Luiz Junior – Santiago Mourino, Alfonso Pedraza, Rafael Marin, Renato Veiga – Nicolas Pepe, Daniel Parejo, Pape Gueye, Alberto Moleiro – Gerard Moreno, Georges Mikautadze.
Defender Alfonso Pedraza is serving a suspension. Due to injuries, defenders Juan Foyth and Logan Costa, as well as forwards Alfonso Gonzalez and Pau Cabanes, will not be available. The participation of forwards Gerard Moreno and Ayoze Perez is in doubt.
Espanyol
Espanyol are also going through a serious slump — ahead of the trip to Villarreal, the team are now without a win in five straight La Liga matches. Moreover, four of those five games ended in defeat. Yet not long ago, Espanyol produced their best run of the 21st century, winning five La Liga matches in a row. In the last round, the team lost at home to Alaves (1:2), and the result cost them fifth place in the standings. The club are now sixth and one point behind Real Betis. A whole group of rivals are also closing in from below.
- Espanyol have conceded in six straight Spanish top-flight matches.
- The Catalans’ away scoring run in this competition has reached seven games.
- At least two goals have been scored in Espanyol’s last six La Liga matches.
Potential Espanyol Lineup (4-4-2)*
Marko Dmitrovic – Fernando Calero, Leandro Cabrera, Carlos Romero, Clemens Riedel – Urko Gonzalez, Edu Exposito, Jofre Carreras, Ramon Terrats – Kike Garcia, Roberto Fernandez.
Captain Javi Puado is unavailable due to injury.
Referee
Adrian Cordero Vega (Spain)
Matches — 10 (La Liga, 2025/26);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) — 36;
Average yellow cards per match — 3.6;
Red cards shown — 1;
Fouls per match on average — 25;
Penalties — 30%.
Villarreal vs Espanyol: Match Prediction
The opponents come into the match in a poor mood, but Espanyol’s issues look more serious. The Catalans have not won in five La Liga rounds, and over this spell they have managed to collect only one point. Since the second half of January, the team have suffered three straight league defeats. And at such a moment, the club have to travel to an awkward opponent. Espanyol have lost each of the last six head-to-head meetings with Villarreal in La Liga, with the Catalans last taking any points back in 2021.
Villarreal’s winless run in La Liga has only reached three matches (one draw, two defeats) so far, and it is also worth adding that at home in this spell the club slipped up against Real Madrid (0:2). In general, Villarreal are always dangerous at their own ground — in the team’s 15 previous matches in the Spanish top flight, they have recorded 12 wins.
Most likely, the hosts will now end their poor run and pick up important points.
Prediction: Villarreal to win
* For each team, the starting XI from their previous match in this competition is listed.