Villarreal vs. FC Twente: Match Preview
- By A.D. Winn on April 6, 2011 17:38 GMT
Current Eredivisie leaders FC Twente make the journey to Spain to face in-form Villarreal in the next round of the Europa League, in what could be the highlight match of the night.
Villarreal, currently unbeaten at home under manager Juan Carlos Garrido, find themselves in a strong position to progress, last being beaten at home in this competition back in December 2009.
El Submarino Amarillo have already seen the elimination of Napoli and Bayer Leverkusen this year, and have other victories during the group stage including confident wins over Club Brugge and Dinamo Zagreb.
Villarreal originally finished seventh in last season’s domestic league season, but qualified for the Europa League after Mallorca were dismissed due to financial irregularities, allowing Juan Carlos Garrido’s side to participate.
They will be hoping on the form of players such as ex-West Brom midfielder Borja Valero, veteran Spanish defender Joan Capdevila and former Manchester United striker Giuseppe Rossi.
The striker is currently the top scorer in the competition, one goal ahead of FC Porto forward Falcao.
Their opponents Twente have recorded just two victories since entering the Europa League after being unable to progress in the Champions League. They recorded a 2-2 home draw against Rubin Kazan, and were comfortably beaten 2-0 away at Zenit St. Petersburg last month, progressing 3-2 on aggregate.
Twente will be able to select their 20 year old striker Luuk de Jong, alongside goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov and dead-ball specialist Theo Janssen.
Form
All Competitions:
Villarreal: WDWWL (7 goals for, 6 against)
FC Twente: WWLWW (9 goals for, 3 against)
Champions League/ Europa League:
Villarreal: WDWWW (9 goals for, 5 against)
FC Twente: DWDWL (10 goals for, 7 against)
