Salzburg vs Villareal Betting Tip Under 2.5 goals – 18 February 2021

Villareal may frustrate hosts

Zweikampf Andre Ramalho / Salzburg ©IMAGO / Fotostand 10.02.2021

AustriaSalzburg vs VillarealSpain
18 February 2000hrs
Football – Europe – Europa League
Pick Under 2.5 goals
Bookmaker Unibet
Odds: 6/5  odds taken 2000 GMT, Wednesday 17 February

 

Salzburg drop into this competition from the Champions League and face a difficult challenge up against a Villareal team who topped their section and are unbeaten in Europe this season.

Bet at Unibet

 

Salzburg Preview – Can Salzburg maintain their excellent home record in this competition and gain a first leg advantage?

Although the aim is to establish themselves as a Champions League club in time, Salzburg are probably at their level competing in the knockout stages of the Europa League. The Austrian champions finished on four points with a group containing Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich in this season’s Champions League. They did have a chance heading into the final group match, though, but lost out 2-0 to the Spanish outfit.

Jesse Marsch will now focus his team’s attention on progressing through this competition and they come into this match in excellent form. They’ve won their last six, scoring 17 goals in the process.

 

Our betting prediction:
1-1 Correct Score
6/1

Bet at Bet365

(odds taken 2000 GMT, Wednesday 17 February)
Salzburg sit on top of the Austrian Bundesliga but are just three points ahead of Rapid Vienna with LASK a further four points back. It has the makings of a proper title race so Marsch will have to use his squad if the club are to achieve success on both domestic and European fronts.
The club have gotten as far as the semi-final stage in the past (2017/18) when narrowly losing out on aggregate to Marseille. They haven’t been past the last 16 stage since then however and will be keen to at least match that this time around.

Villareal Preview – Will Villareal extend their unbeaten run in the Europa League to seven matches?

It’s been an almost flawless Europa League campaign so far for Villareal who topped Group 1 with 16 points from a possible 18. Their goal return of 17 also meant they were the third highest scorers in the group phase with the veteran Paco Alcacer scoring four of them.  The challenge for Unai Emery and his players is to continue that form into the knockout phase, particularly as they have been disappointing of late domestically.

A win in the Copa Del Rey away to Girona is Villareal’s only win in their last seven matches. So they have to find improvement to see off a dangerous and dynamic opponent.

 

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There’s no better coach than Emery to lead them through these knockout stages, however. He’s won the competition three times during his spell in charge of Sevilla whilst he also led Arsenal to the final more recently. We know it’s a competition he takes serious and will by targeting a prolonged run in it with his current employers.

Although they’ve not won many games of late, Villareal’s away form in general has been excellent. A 2-0 defeat to Sevilla is their only defeat in 90 minutes in their last 18 games.

Salzburg vs Villareal Betting Advice

This is one of the most intriguing ties of the last 32 with two teams who have shown their capabilities throughout the course of this campaign. Salzburg will have some sort of indication of where they stand in relation to their opponents having played Atletico Madrid twice already this season.

The teams met at this stage back in 2015 and it was Villareal who came out on top, comfortably progressing 5-2 on aggregate.

 

Key Facts – Salzburg vs Villareal Betting Tip

  • Salzburg were no match for Eintracht Frankfurt at this stage last year, losing 6-3 on aggregate
  • Villareal won five and drew one of their six group matches, finishing five points clear of second
  • The teams have met four times previously in this competition with the record sitting at two wins each

 

It’s a tie that promises goals but it could be that the first leg is more cagey. Emery knows how to approach these games and Villareal’s away set-up is compact, as you would expect. Six of their last eight away games in the Europa League have had two or fewer goals and I’m backing this to be another.

Best Betting Odds for Salzburg vs Villareal

Salzburg: to win: 13/5 Betvictor
Draw: 23/10 at Betvictor
Villareal: 19/10 at Betvictor