Villarreal vs Osasuna: Gamethread

It’s MATCHDAY everybody! We’ll drop comment updates as usual at the bottom of this thing. We’re facing a wounded Osasuna team, with Chimy Avila out for the season, and we are debuting our new big signing, perfect recipe for either a resounding home win or a rather embarrassing, fall on your face defeat. Sorry, didn’t mean to put that negativity out there. Resounding home win, resounding home win, resounding home win.

We come into this match in resounding form overall. In our last ten games, all competitions, we’re 8-1-1. Play like that all year and you’ll find yourself close to some silver. That said, the actual football in a lot of those matches was not as convincing as the end result. Four of the wins were 2-1, and we’ve had several matches where we came out flat for the first half hour to first half before we finally got it together in the second half. I for one would love to see, just for once, an early goal, nice control of the game, Osasuna look totally harmless and then glide to an easy victory.

Probably won’t happen that way. There’s that blasted negativity again. Please feel free to drop your thoughts on the game below. What sticks out to you? What are we doing right that you would like to see changed? Who is playing that you think should be benched or who is on the bench that you can’t believe didn’t start?

And here are the teams!!!

VILLARREAL: Asenjo; Mario, Albiol, Funes Mori, Peña; Santi, Iborra, Trigueros, Moi; Paco Alcacer and Gerard.

Bench: Andrés; Sofian Chakla, Samu Chulwueze, Ontiveros, Anguissa, Bacca, Fer Niño.

OSASUNA: Herrera; Vidal, David García, Cardona, Torres, Rubén García, Ibañez, Iñigo Perez, Aridane, Moncayola, Estupiñán.

Bench: Juan Pérez; Unai García, Fran Merida, Enric Gallego, Roncaglia, José Arniaz, Adrián López (yes, that one).

Trivia: This is our first meeting with Osasuna at our place since September 2016, when we coasted to a 3-1 victory behind goals by Alexandre Pato (really!!!), Bruno (a penalty) and Nicola Sansone. Asenjo, Mario and Trigueros were in our starting lineup that day, while David García and Roberto Torres, who scored their only goal with a penalty just before halftime, were in Osasuna’s lineup.

All of this transfer window stuff is just fine but nothing beats a matchday.

Endavant! A guanyar!!