Villarreal secured a narrow 1-0 win in the reverse fixture at El Madridgal in January thanks to Dani Parejo's dramatic winner from the penalty spot eleven minutes into the injury time.
Follow Us
Villarreal will be looking to keep their slight hopes of Champions League qualification alive when they travel to Montilivi to take on Girona in a La Liga fixture. Yellow Submarine are currently occupying fifth spot in the Spanish top flight standings, having collected 57 points from 34 games, just five points adrift of the top four, while the hosts are sitting two places behind Gironestes, separated by nine points, and just a solitary point clear of eighth-placed Athletic Bilbao. Girona, who earned promotion to the top tier courtesy of Segunda Division playoffs last term, are now in pole position to secure a place in next season’s Europa Conference League.
Here are Quique Setién’s thoughts ahead of #GironaVillarreal tomorrow.
— Villarreal CF English (@VillarrealCFen) May 19, 2023
Girona are heading into the match on the back of a four-game unbeaten streak. Since the narrow 1-0 loss to Real Valladolid almost a month ago, the White and Reds recorded three back-to-back wins against Real Madrid (4-2), Sevilla (2-0) and Mallorca (2-1), before sharing the spoils away to Real Sociedad last Saturday. White-Reds twice came from behind to earn a point away to Real Sociedad at Reale Arena last time out thanks to first-half goals from Yan Couto and Christhian Stuani. At the start of the season, Girona’s primary objective would have been to ensure survival for at least one more term, but the Catalonia outfit have certainly punched above their weight to be challenging for a spot in Europe next season. Meanwhile, White-Reds have won their last four -league-games at Montilivi, and holds the fifth-best home-record in the top division this season, having taken 33 points from 17 games in front of their own supporters.
Like their hosts, Villarreal are also in pretty god form, having not tasted defeat in their last four matches, while winning three games in the period. Yellow Submarine thrashed Athletic Bilbao 5-1 last Saturday courtesy of braces from both Alex Baena and Nicolas Jackson and an Aitor Paredes own goal. It was their 17th top flight victory of the season and they have now won six of their last nine league-games, taking 19 points in the process. With four games remaining, Villarreal are in pole position to qualify for next season Europa League group stage, but Quique Setien’s men will be looking to make a late dash for the Champions League places, as they are five points adrift of fourth-placed Real Sociedad.
The last four meetings between these two sides have ended in favour of Villarreal with the Yellow Submarine scoring six goals and conceding none. This season, Setien’s men secured a narrow 1-0 win in the reverse fixture at El Madridgal in January thanks to Dani Parejo’s dramatic winner from the penalty spot eleven minutes into the injury time. It was Villarreal’s eighth victory over Gironestes from 12 meetings, while White-Reds have prevailed only on four occasions.
| Key Details | Stats |
| Total matches | 12 |
| Girona won | 4 |
| Villarreal won | 8 |
| Draws | 0 |
| Total Girona goals | 10 |
| Total Villarreal goals | 17 |
| Biggest Girona win | 2-0 (2018) |
| Biggest Villarreal win | 4-1 (2013) |
| Last 5 match-results | Score |
| Villarreal beat Girona | 1-0 |
| Villarreal beat Girona | 0-1 |
| Villarreal beat Girona | 0-3 |
| Villarreal beat Girona | 0-1 |
| Girona beat Villarreal | 0-1 |
More football news:
Prabir Das: Bengaluru FC right-back reportedly set to join arch rivals Kerala Blasters FC
Newcastle United vs Brighton: Eddie Howe provides fitness update on Sean Longstaff, Jacob Murphy
