Europa League Group A leaders Slavia Prague and Villarreal meet in the Czech Republic next week, with a win for either side giving them a huge advantage in the race to reach the knockout phase of the competition.
Champions League – Eden Arena, Prague – Thursday 2nd November – 19:00 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 10/23 at PaddyPower |
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Slavia Prague
FC VillarealMatch Preview
With the two teams having played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in Spain just last week, anticipation is high ahead of this Europa League fixture, with the duo both looking to maintain their unbeaten records in Group A so far. Despite Villarreal being the stronger of the two teams on paper, the previous meeting between the clubs shows that there is little to separate them on the field. Let’s take a closer look at the two teams, including their team news and form, perfect for those looking to place a bet on this upcoming match.
Slavia Prague Team News & Form
Manager Jaroslav Šilhavý saw his side lose 2-1 to rivals Liberec in the Czech First League over the weekend, leaving them nine points behind the league leaders in the standings. Despite being inconsistent domestically, Slavia Prague have saved their best form for their European clashes so far this season, including their battling draw in Spain just last week. Despite being 2-0 up in that match, the visitors had to dig deep to secure a point in the end, with Danny and Tomas Necid scoring the goals. Despite being in the latter stages of his career, former Zenit star Danny is likely to be a constant threat for the home side, with the former Portuguese international having signed for the club back in the summer.
Villarreal Team News & Form
Villarreal are another side struggling to find their best form in their respective domestic league, with the Spanish side having suffered three defeats already. However, having defeated Las Palmas 4-0 over the weekend, Javier Calleja will be hoping that his side have turned a corner in their campaign. The likes of Carlos Bacca, Cédric Bakambu and Denis Cheryshev are among the Spanish sides biggest attacking threats, with Villarreal having the best attacking record in Group As so far. Villarreal have reached the last 16 of the Europa League at worst for the past four seasons, with another positive result in the Czech Republic next week giving them an excellent chance of achieving this once more.
Head to Head
Before their meeting in Spain last week, where the score ended at 2-2 after 90 minutes, the two teams had never previously met in any competitive fixture, making next week’s encounter difficult to predict. No real conclusions can be made in this area when looking to make predictions surrounding the upcoming encounter.
Betting Odds and Predictions
Given the result in Spain last week, it is little surprise that bookmaker odds surrounding this match are too close to call. However, for those looking to back Villarreal to claim all three points, best odds of 23/20 can be found at Ladbrokes, while the same bookmaker offer the home side odds of 9/4.
Top Betting Tip
Our top betting tip for the match is to bet on their being over 2.5 goals at the end of the 90 minutes, which can be found at best odds of 21/20 at William Hill.