Villarreal vs Celta Vigo: La Liga Gamethread

They all matter now. Real Sociedad won their match today to move four points clear of us, Betis sits a point behind and plays in the match after us, and the last two games of our league season or really tough matchups, so we have to get maximum points right now. No Europa League hangover can be avoided, we need to strike hard from the opening kick tomorrow.

I should be done with work in time for the match tomorrow, but I probably won’t be done in time to update the lineups, so drop those in the comments. The big questions will come down to, first, whether Iago Aspas plays for Celta, and second, does Unai rest anyone after the physically and emotionally draining match on Thursday. In some ways, I like how the end of our schedule breaks out. We get two winnable games first and then we get to face two opponents that are, for my money, better than Manchester United to prepare us for the final.

Something that has been mentioned in the comment threads on the site but hasn’t been discussed too much is the form of Gerard Moreno. Other than a flick on assist in the first leg against Arsenal, he has not directly contributed to a goal since April 18th where we smashed Levante. More worrisome, for me, he hasn’t looked particularly strong in buildup over that time either. We need him back on track if we are going to finish 5th and/or win the Europa League.

The last two times we’ve faced Celta at home in La Liga, we conceded three goals and lost. Celta has also won their last two matches overall and their last four away from home. Even though they are banged up, we’ll need to be ready.

Thoughts?

Hit us in the comment with your thoughts on the match.