Villarreal vs Real Betis: La Liga Gamethread

I’ll be sliding into my couch seat right about the time the match starts because of work today, so if one of you fine folks could drop the lineups in the comments I’d greatly appreciate it. I’m not entirely sure what else can be said that hasn’t been already. Real Betis is a good team, and if we had gotten wins where we should have this season I might not be too upset about a draw in this one, but after the way we’ve started we now need to get as many wins as possible against teams like this who have that above average level of quality for a La Liga side.

Frankly, I think we’ll do it. Betis is a bit shaky defensively, we’ve created chances pretty well lately, and it’s about time for our finishing to come back to the mean in the form of a few goals. We are a goal behind our xG in La Liga, about the same in the Champions League, and at some point these things just need to start hitting the back of the net.

After early promise against Chelsea, Boulaye Dia hasn’t done a whole lot. I don’t mind a striker who doesn’t necessarily score a ton but brings other things to the table, but Dia hasn’t even brought that in long spells. He is transitioning to a much better league than he played in previously, and I’m hoping that once he’s adjusted things will settle into a nice rhythm for him, but today would be a great day for him to make a meaningful impact, even if it comes off the bench.

Thoughts?

Tell us your reactions to the match as it happens.