The Matchday 7 clash in La Liga between Villarreal and Athletic is set for September 27 at the Estadio de la Cerámica. Villarreal vs. Athletic: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Villarreal
The team has shown its ambitions for the current season right from the start of La Liga. Last Tuesday, Villarreal defeated Sevilla, marking their fourth win in the first six league matches. Overall, the club has won 10 of their last 12 La Liga encounters. With 13 points out of a possible 18, Marcelino García's side sits in third place in the table, behind only Barcelona and Real Madrid.
- Villarreal's home winning streak in the league has lasted for seven matches.
- In this season of La Liga, the team has conceded a total of five goals – only Real Madrid and Barcelona have better records.
- The club has scored in 11 of their last 12 La Liga games.
Predicted lineup for Villarreal (4-3-3)
Arnau Tenas – Santiago Mourino, Rafa Marin, Renato Veiga, Sergi Cardona – Pape Gueye, Santi Comesaña, Dani Parejo – Alberto Moleiro, Tajon Buchanan, Tani Oluwaseyi.
Defenders Juan Foyth, Logan Costa, Willy Kambwala, midfielder Santi Comesaña, and forwards Gerard Moreno, Ilias Akhomach, Ayoze Perez, Pau Cabanes are unavailable due to health issues.
Athletic
Ernesto Valverde's team is struggling to overcome the slump that followed the international break. Athletic began this La Liga season with three consecutive wins, but then slowed down and secured only one point in the next three rounds. In their most recent match, the club drew with Girona, ending a nine-match uncompromising streak in La Liga (6 wins, 3 losses). Notably, the Basques are currently sixth in the table.
- Athletic has conceded in six of their last seven matches in the Spanish league.
- The club has avoided defeat in 14 of their last 18 La Liga games (9 wins, 5 draws).
- At least one team failed to score in eight of the last nine away games for the Basques in La Liga.
Predicted lineup for Athletic (4-2-3-1)
Unai Simón – Andoni Gorosabel, Aymeric Laporte, Aitor Paredes, Adama Boiró – Mikel Vesga, Mikel Jaureguizar – Oihan Sancet, Iñaki Williams, Nico Serrano – Gorka Guruzeta.
Goalkeeper Alex Padilla and key defender Dani Vivian have served their suspensions. Head coach Ernesto Valverde is still penalized and cannot manage the team from the sidelines. Defender Yeray Álvarez is suspended for doping. Forward Nico Williams is sidelined due to injury.
Referee
Miguel Sesma (Spain)
Matches – 27 (Segunda and La Liga, 2024/25–2025/26);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 119;
Average yellow cards per match – 4.4;
Red cards shown – 4;
Average fouls per match – 27;
Penalties – 48%.
Villarreal vs. Athletic: Match Prediction
Villarreal is delivering impressive results in La Liga while maintaining an exciting style of play. Marcelino García's side has scored at least two goals in seven of their last nine league matches, and when considering opponents' goals, at least three goals were seen in six of those nine encounters. Additionally, the two-goal mark was reached in the team's last six home league games.
Pragmatic Athletic is not known for high attacking output, but it's worth noting that at least two goals were scored in five of the Basques' last seven league matches. Moreover, at least two goals have been scored in eight of the last ten head-to-head meetings between Athletic and Villarreal in La Liga.
I believe the teams will certainly keep us entertained and score at least a couple of goals between them. Prediction – Total over 2 goals
