On Saturday afternoon, Alaves and Villarreal go head-to-head at the Estadio de Mendizorroza as both teams look to push up the Spanish top-flight table.
Alaves looking to bounce back after BarcelonaLast time out, the home team suffered a 3-1 defeat against Barcelona. The loss not only ended a three-game winning streak in La Liga but also a four-match unbeaten run in the Spanish top-flight.
The recent decent form has moved Alaves up to 11th place in the table, nine points clear of the relegation zone, while also being 11 points adrift of the European berths.
Alaves’ general form may have improved of late in La Liga, but their recent league results at Mendizorroza have been poor, as they have suffered defeat in three of their previous four games.
Their recent home games in La Liga have not exactly been goal-filled, as eight of the last ten have produced under 2.5 goals.
Villarreal is unbeaten in three La Liga gamesThe Yellow Submarine have shown some decent form in La Liga lately, as a 0-0 draw with Cadiz means that they are unbeaten in three matches in the Spanish top-flight.
The game was a rare low-scoring one for the visitors, as six of their last eight matches in La Liga have produced over 2.5 goals.
The recent slight improvement of form leaves Villarreal in 14th place in La Liga’s standings, just two points adrift of their host hosts.
Marcelino’s team have been poor on their travels this season. However, an extraordinary 5-3 win at the reigning Spanish champions ended a losing streak of three away games in the Spanish top flight.
The main reason for Villarreal’s recent poor away results has been conceding too many goals, as they have now conceded at least three goals in their last four matches on their travels.
What am I backing?Both teams have shown signs of improvement in recent games. This should be a relatively even contest, with goals, so I am backing over 2.5 goals scored.