ESPANYOL v VILLARREAL
Copa del Rey
Thursday 17th January 2019
Kickoff: 1930hrs
Pick: Espanyol AH0
Bookmaker: Marathonbet
Odds: 1.57 (odds taken at 01:26 GMT, 17 Jan 2019)
Thursday night brings us Spanish cup action in the Copa del Rey with Espanyol taking on Villarreal as the betting tips continue at the RCDE Stadium.
Copa del Rey Betting at Marathonbet
Espanyol Prediction
Espanyol managed to avoid defeat in last week’s first leg at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Cerámica as they held the hosts to a 2-2 draw to take the scores level in this second leg back to their RCDE Stadium with Espanyol looking to progress through to the quarter-finals here.
It’s been a tough time recently for Espanyol who currently sit in a mid-table position in La Liga as the hosts have secured just two wins from their last 10 matches overall in all competitions, which were a Copa del Rey win over Cadiz and a La Liga win against Leganes – both of which were at home.
After an impressive start to their campaign, winning their first five matches on the trot in La Liga with wins against Valencia, Levante, Eibar, Villarreal 3-1 and Athletic Bilbao, it looked like being a stellar season for Espanyol, but they’ve since gained just two wins from their subsequent five matches at home in all competitions.
Nevertheless, with striker Iglesias (9 goals) up front, the hosts should find a way to progress through to the next round here.
- Espanyol have won 7 of their last 12 matches at home in all competitions
- Villarreal have won just 3 of their 16 matches in all competitions
- Villarreal have won just 2 of their 13 away matches this season
Villarreal Prediction
Onto Villarreal and they missed out on the opportunity to take a lead into this second leg of this Copa del Rey tie against Espanyol as they were held to a 2-2 draw at their Estadio de la Cerámica which incidentally became their fourth draw on the trot in all competitions.
The visitors have actually now gone five matches without a win and along with picking up just three wins from their last 16 matches in all competitions, all of these came on home turf. In La Liga, Villarreal find themselves in a nightmare situation of being in the bottom three of the Spanish top flight and they’re four points adrift of safety as they turn their attentions to the cup tonight.
In addition, Villarreal have won just 2 of their 13 away matches this season which were gained early on this term with wins at Leganes and Athletic Club back in September, but have since slumped to 10 matches without a win on their travels.
A note of caution though – Villarreal have drawn 7 of these 13 away matches.
Betting Tips Verdict
I’m tipping that Espanyol can put their recent ordinary results behind them here but in view of the high number of draws that Villarreal have been involved in, I’ll use the draw no bet option on the hosts here.
