Villarreal vs Valencia: La Liga Gamethread

Happy derbi day everybody. Today markes 28 years since we made it to Segunda, and it is a great opportunity to really put our stamp on the race for Europe. We lead Valencia in the able and in goal differential; a win today would give us a much needed firm grip on Europa League places heading into an even tougher part of the schedule

Lineups

Given the long rest period before this match and the relevant suspensions there are no surprises here. It will be interesting to see, if Calleja needs a sub to one of the two center mids if he goes with Bruno or Morlanes. Expect Moi at around the hour and Bacca at some point in there as well, but this may not be a match where all five subs get used.

Hugo (number 33) is a really talented kid, but how he performs in the center of defense will probably tell us a lot about how this match is going to go. Can he stand up to the pressure of derbi day?

What needs to happen..

I really hate we won’t have our home crowd boosting the lads out there today, but we’ve been pretty solid since play resumed from the break. We have to get Paco service. If we can I think we can take advantage of their mistakes in the back. Quintilla will have his hands full with Ferran today and his ability to at least neutralize the Valencian winger will be crucial to us keeping a clean sheet.