Sporting Lisbon vs Villareal is the double-handed tour, which will be played between the two in the sixteen Europa League. There are two teams away from the form we were accustomed to, in poor times in domestic competitions. The match will take place on Thursday, at 22:00, on Estadio Jose Alvalade.
Sporting Lisbon: current form, latest results, statistics
Sporting was only fourth in the rankings of the first Portuguese leagues. He has been battling for a title in the last few years and has been running since 2002. But this season he dropped out early or did not have the necessary weapons. After Porto vs Benfica, the teams with which they are often due, passed Braga.
In the Europa League, this season, he ranked second in Group E, after Arsenal, with 13 points. It should be noted that the opponents were somewhat unknown in the European space, Qarabag and Vorskla Poltava. Sporting has accumulated the most points among all second-placed second-group players and even surpassed 6 winners, including Villareal.
Let’s see the results of the Portuguese in Group E:
- 20.09.18 Sporting vs Qarabag 2-0
- 04.10.18 Vorskla Poltava 1-2
- 25.10.18 Sporting vs Arsenal 0-1
- 08.11.18 Arsenal vs Sporting 0-0
- 29.11.18 Qarabag vs Sporting 1-6
- 13.12.18 Sporting vs Vorskla Poltava 3-0
On the list of UEFA’s initial list, the following changes occurred. Luiz Phellype, Cristian Borja and Thiago Ilori entered this list and Emiliano Viviano, Carlos Mane, Elves Balde, Tiago Djalo, Daniel Braganca and Rodrigo Battaglia were taken out.
In the previous season he climbed to the finals of the continental competition, where he was eliminated by Atletico Madrid. The best performance he made in the 2005 edition when he was a finalist. There is a trophy in the team record. In 1964 he won the Cup of Cups, which won the national cup winners.
Bruno Fernandes, Abdoulay Diaby, Fredy Montero and Jovane Cabral with 2 goals scored are the team’s top scorers in Europe. Bas Dost, with 12 goals, is Sporting’s best performer in Primeira.
Villareal: current form, latest results, statistics
Villareal is in a critical situation before the first Europa League match with Sporting. The Spanish team occupies a retrograde position in La Liga and the difference to the safety places is 4 points. In the last stage, he managed to score a draw at Valladolid, but coach Javier Calleja was not satisfied.
If in the domestic competition the results are not the expected ones, the Europa League has managed to qualify for the direct elimination phase. He took first place in Group G, a very disputed one, in which the decision for qualification was taken only after the last stage.
These are Villareal’s results in Group G:
- 20.09.18 Villareal vs Glasgow Rangers 2-2
- 04.10.18 Spartak Moscow vs. Villareal 3-3
- 25.10.18 Villareal vs Rapid Vienna 5-0
- 08.11.18 Rapid Viena vs Villareal 0-0
- 29.11.18 Glasgow Rangers vs Villareal 0-0
- 13.12.18 Villaral vs Spartak Moscow 2-0
And the Spanish team has made a few changes to the list initially announced at UEFA. Vicente Iborra, Xavi Quintilla and Ramon Bueno came in and Nicola Sansone, Miguel Layun and Emmanuel Lomotey came out.
We have to note the constant appearance of Villareal in the second European competition. He has not been absent in any of the last 5 editions and has always passed the group stage. The best performances succeeded in 2004, 2011 and 2016, when he reached the semifinals.
Karl Toko Ekambi, 3 goals scored, is the team’s top scorer in the European competition. In La Liga, Carlos Bacca and Gerard Moreno, with 4 goals each, are the most important team makers. Both have also scored in this edition of the Europa League.
The two have not met in European competitions. In 2016, during the training period, they played a friendly match, finalized at a draw, 0-0.
Villareal has big problems in domestic competition and should not load his schedule with these European matches. It will depend on what has been decided by the technical staff, but it will certainly not match the best formula he has for having a difficult match with Sevilla in La Liga. Sporting has to wash his sins for his weaker behavior in the championship and a long campaign in the Europa League will bring his supporters appreciation.
Our Prediction: 1
Odds: 2.20
