Villarreal at Mallorca: La Liga Gamethread

Please oh please oh please, not another draw. Honestly, win or lose, I’d feel something more authentic than if we just drew yet another stupid football match. We wait all week for these things, and I for one do not sit around thinking ‘oh I bet we end it without a winner for the billionth time’.

Speaking of feeling things, find a spouse that feels about you the way Unai Emery apparently feels about Gero Rulli. I’m not exactly sure what Sergio Asenjo did to piss our manager off, but he seems to have been buried beyond hope of the light of day in favor of a keeper who, objectively, isn’t any better than league average. Gerard Moreno misses this one due to hamstring discomfort.

In brighter news, Danjuma gets the start, and he absolutely deserves it after his early returns for the club. Pervis is preferred over both other options at LB, which should provide us with plenty of attacking threat down that side. I quite literally squinted at this lineup when I saw it, trying to figure out who the third attacker was. I guess it’s Moi? Parejo starts on the bench so don’t expect us to just ramp up into full control of this one.

Jaume Costa not only starts but makes the cover art against us. Fer gets the go ahead as well, as does our once upon a time loanee Take Kubo. This is a lineup that knows how Unai Emery likes to operate, and they are better than most people realize. Missing Gerard and Dani, we will be in an absolute dogfight in this match.

Thoughts?

I wish I could summon more optimism for you, but I just don’t have it today.