Pafos vs Villarreal Prediction: Vill to nil the way to go

Uefa Champions League newbies Pafos are yet to claim a league–phase victory, drawing 0-0 away to Olympiakos and Kairat Almaty, either side of a 5-1 hammering at home by Bayern Munich. Still, the Cypriots sit a point ahead of their next opponents at Alphamega Stadium, Villarreal, who lost away to Tottenham Hotspur (1-0) and at home to Manchester City (0-2), either side of a 2-2 draw in Spain with Juventus.

Below are my Pafos vs Villarreal predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of Wednesday’s game (17:45 GMT, TNT Sports 3).

Team News

Joao Correia is suspended for Wednesday’s match after he was sent off after four minutes of Pafos’ goalless draw at Kairat Almaty last time out in the competition.

Former Birmingham City midfielder Ivan Sunjic (unspecified) is doubtful after missing his side’s last two games.

Football Odds

Willy Kambwala (hamstring), Logan Costa and Pau Cabanes (both knee), who all suffered injuries in pre-season for Villarreal, remain sidelined.

Tajon Buchanan, who hit a hat-trick in the Yellow Submarines’ 5-0 victory over Girona in La Liga on August 24, could be restored to the starting XI after beginning Saturday’s 4-0 win against Rayo Vallecano on the bench.

Pafos vs Villarreal Odds

Pafos are 13/2, or a 13.3% chance, to claim their first win in the league phase, while Villarreal are 2/5 (71.4%) to secure a victory which would see them overtake their hosts on Wednesday, with the draw available at 4/1.

To Win to Nil - Villarreal @ 7/5

Pafos have struggled for goals recently, netting just three times across their last four games.

The Cypriot side did notch once at home against German giants Bayern Munich last time out at home in the competition, but that was a spectacular long-range strike from Mislav Orsic just before half-time, with the visitors 4-0 up and cruising.

Villarreal, meanwhile, have won their last three matches, keeping clean sheets in victories over Valencia (0-2), Ciudad de Lucena (0-6) and Rayo Vallecano (4-0) to take their season shutout tally to six.

Today's Football Fixtures

The Yellow Submarine are yet to record a clean sheet in this season’s Champions League, but they’ve been handed a tough fixture list so far, travelling to reigning Uefa Europa League champions Spurs before tricky visits from Italian giants Juventus and Pep Guardiola’s Man City.

This looks like a great opportunity for Villarreal to get a win on the board, and I’m backing them to keep a clean sheet in the process.

Player to Receive a Card - Kostas Pileas (PAF) @ 10/3

Keeping 11 men on the pitch has been a problem for Pafos in the league phase, with Bruno sent off in the 26th minute of their stalemate with Olympiakos in Greece, and Correia dismissed early on against Kairat Almaty in Kazakhstan last time out in the competition.

Pafos left-back Kostas Pileas has kept himself out of the referee’s notebook so far, but in the first of his two starts, at home to Bayern, he made two fouls, one on midfielder Joshua Kimmich and one on right-winger Michael Olise.

The 26-year-old was only booked once in 15 Cypriot First Division appearances last season, but was cautioned twice in 11 Uefa Conference League contests.

While Pileas has avoided a card for his club side this term, the Cyprus international has been booked twice for his country, earning a yellow in a 1-0 loss to Austria on September 6 and another in a 4-0 victory over San Marino on October 12.

On Wednesday, Pileas could be in close quarters with Villarreal’s Nicolas Pepe, who is averaging 1.1 and two fouls won per game in this season’s La Liga and Champions League, respectively.

The Ivory Coast international was fouled four times against Juventus, who saw their two starting wing-backs, Juan Cabal and Andrea Cambiaso - the latter switched sides after the former was withdrawn in the 16th minute due to injury - booked for offences against the Villarreal winger.

Pepe posed big problems for Rayo Vallecano on the weekend, drawing three fouls, and he could cause Pileas some issues in midweek, making the Pafos defender an attractive option in the Player to Receive a Card market.

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