Villarreal vs Man Utd Preview and Betting Tip
Villarreal vs Man Utd Preview
The Man Utd circus rolls into Villarreal on Tuesday evening for a crucial Champions League clash. Michael Carrick is now at the wheel and the markets reckon it could be a baptism of fire. The hosts are 2.8 to get the win and The Red Devils are narrow favourites at 2.5. The draw can be backed at 3.4 with some firms. Can Carrick right the ship, or will Unai Emery engineer a famous home win? Check out our Villarreal vs Man Utd preview below.
Villarreal
At Old Trafford, Villarreal were desperately unlucky to lose the match. The Yellow Submarine dominated proceedings and they repeatedly carved Man Utd open. When Paco Alcacer opened the scoring in the 53rd minute it looked like there would only be one winner. Alex Telles scored an equaliser just seven minutes later and then in the fifth of six minutes of injury time, Cristiano Ronaldo nicked a winner.
It was an extremely unfortunate result for Emery’s side but they have bounced back with home and away wins against Young Boys. They are now level on points with Utd at the top and a win would more or less lock up their place in the knockout stages. Domestically, it hasn’t been the best of starts for Villarreal. They are well off the pace in La Liga, already 10 points adrift from the top 4 in 12th with 16 points.
Villarreal will be without star striker Gerard Moreno on Tuesday. However, Capoue, Alcacer and Danjuma, who was man of the match at Old Trafford, should all be available for selection. Unai Emery’s side have lost just once from eight home fixtures in all competitions this season and they’ll be hoping to get their first win in 90 minutes against Man Utd. Given the form of their opponents, you wouldn’t bet against them.
Man Utd
On a traumatic weekend for Man Utd, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer finally lost his job. A 4-1 embarrassment at Watford was a step too far for Joel Glazer and he pulled the trigger. However, Utd have no contingency plan in place and Solskjaer’s assistant, Michael Carrick, will take charge until a more permanent appointment is made. On what we have seen in the last few weeks, whoever takes this job has an enormous task on their hands.
It was a shambolic display defensively on Saturday with Shaw and Maguire most culpable. Bruno Fernandes looks a shadow of the player he was last season and Ronaldo cut a frustrated figure up front. The only player to emerge with any credit from the game was second half substitute Donny Van De Beek. The Dutchman was Utd’s best player by a distance and it would be no surprise to see him start in Spain.
It was clear to see in the past few matches that the vast majority of United’s players downed tools. They threw their manager under the bus and it will be interesting to see what their attitude is like tonight. Now that they have got what they wanted and the manager is gone, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a big performance from them. This is a fickle bunch of players and if they are in the mood they are capable of winning this. However, on recent form, you couldn’t back them with any confidence.
Villarreal vs Man Utd Possible Lineups
Villarreal: Rulli, Gaspar, Albiol, Torres, Pedraza, Pino, Parejo, Capoue, Coquelin, Groeneveld, Alcacer.
Man Utd: De Gea, Telles, Maguire, Lindelof, Wan Bissaka, Fred, Van De Beek, Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford, Ronaldo.
Villarreal vs Man Utd Betting Tip
It is hard to understand how the bookies have made Man Utd the favourites for this match. They have been absolutely terrible for a couple of months now and the fairytale return for Ronaldo has turned into a nightmare. No doubt he’ll keep on scoring goals but it is his work rate and effort when Utd don’t have the ball that has been at the root of so many of Utd’s defensive issues. That, combined with some awful individual mistakes at the back, has been a recipe for disaster.
As was mentioned earlier, this is a very fickle bunch of Man Utd players and they’ll try to raise their games, especially as a defeat would dent their hopes of reaching the Champions League knockout stages. However, Villarreal are a well drilled unit who are tough to beat at home and there is no way they’ll roll over for Utd’s pampered superstars. The money has come for them and I agree with the markets. The recommended bet is Villarreal to win at odds of 2.80.
