Villarreal at Real Betis: La Liga Gamethread

Last week we argued how essential Iborra is to the stability and structure of our midfield. Today he’s out due to lower back pain. Nevertheless, there can be no excuses if Villarreal don’t take full advantage of their match with a reeling Real Betis side.

In the next couple weeks, our boys will be asked to show up big against title contenders in Barcelona and Real Madrid and will battle those close to us in the table like Getafe and Real Sociedad, but the bedrock of final table success is found in how you perform in the games you are supposed to win.

Just as wins against Mallorca and Celta still represent nearly half the points collected in our great restart, this chance for three points will be definitive in the final accounting when the season is all over.

Lineups

Despite Quintilla having a good match last time out, we’re back to Alberto. I’m frustrated. We’ve got a pretty talented 23 year old who has trouble getting game time because of an overpaid injury prone 27 year old.

Iborra is out with lower back pain. I’m worried about the midfield steel. No shock at all that Santi isn’t starting after playing a ton of minutes last match though I’m surprised to see Chukwueze getting a similar rest. Paco taking a break was predictable.

We’ve clearly got a rotated side out here, but a win is still really really important.

Nabil Fekir is really really good. Borja Iglesias is really really not. I’m curious to see how much of an attack they can muster but it seems to me they went with a pretty strong XI.