Villarreal vs Cadiz: La Liga Gamethread

I’ll be working during the leadup to the match today, so if you will, drop those lineups in the comments. We are at the point of the season where we really need nothing but wins. Fortunately we’ve managed to achieve that result three matches in a row, but honestly the overall performance of the team in that run has been little more than ‘solid’. Fortunately, Gerard Moreno has been in spectacular form, having scored or assisted in every match he’s played in 2021 save the Atletico Madrid loss, which is doubly painful because that might be one of our two best team performances of this year.

In results relevant to us, Celta Vigo lost which was good, Athletic Club dropped two points, which is also helpful, but Real Betis won. Realistically this means that a win today solidifies 7th but does nothing but keep pace with 6th. We are ever more reliant on the result of the Copa Del Rey final on April 17th, though it absolutely disgusts me to hope that Barcelona win any match, much less any trophy.

Betis face Atletico, Athletic Club, and Real Madrid before the end of April, so if we keep winning I think we’ll catch up to them, and it all begins today. We’ll probably face another scrappy performance looking for a nil-nil, so creativity and good finishing will be at an absolute premium.

I’m personally keeping a close eye on the striker situation. I want to know if Emery flat out prefers Bacca right now or if Paco is carrying some sort of issue that he is trying to get fully resolved. If it’s the former, we’re probably trying to sell (and then buy) a striker this summer. If it’s the latter, hopefully we’ll be getting the best of Paco down the stretch.