Girona vs Villarreal Prediction: Moreno to keep up good-scoring form

Club football is finally back this weekend and for whatever reason, it seems like the International break was just longer this time around. Still, it is good to be back and we kick off this week in Spain with a clash between 14th and 17th. La Liga TV will cover the match in the UK with kick-off set for 20:00.

As always, our Spanish football expert takes the helm as he previews the action and gives us his top two Rayo Vallecano Predictions plus all the team news, predicted line ups and stats...

Girona vs Villarreal Preview:

The final game of matchday 30 in La Liga comes from the Estadi Montilivi, with Girona hoping to upset another of the top clubs when they host third-placed Villarreal. 

It has been a strange season for the Catalan club. Míchel's team were by some distance the worst side in the Spanish top flight early on, with a host of individual errors and some comical defending seeing them concede 15 times in their first five games. That included a 5-0 defeat against the Yellow Submarine in the reverse fixture, when Girona conceded four times in the opening 28 minutes. 

Another relegation battle looked almost inevitable at that stage, but with deeper pockets than many of their bottom-half rivals, some late summer business helped to breathe new life into the squad. 

Vladyslav Vanat has scored nine times up front since completing a €15m move from Dynamo Kyiv. Azzedine Ounahi has also excelled, with the energetic Moroccan revitalising the Girona midfield, while the likes of Álex Moreno and Vitor Reis can also reflect on solid first seasons at Montilivi. 

Despite that, this is still a team that tends to blow hot and cold. They were outstanding in a 2-1 Catalan derby win over Barcelona in February, and also beat Athletic Club 3-0 in their most recent home fixture. 

However, those are the only two victories in Girona's last nine games. They failed to create a big chance or register a shot on target in a 1-0 defeat to Osasuna last time out. 

Villarreal are another team that have puzzled the pundits this season. They've an excellent 62% win ratio in La Liga and are averaging exactly two points per game. That's extremely impressive by the standards of anyone outside of Spain's "big three", and Marcelino's men are firmly on course for Champions League qualification for the second season in a row. 

That would mark the first time in the club's history they've achieved that feat. Following Atlético Madrid's defeat on Sunday night, Villarreal can go four points clear of Los Rojiblancos with victory here. A third-place finish is well within their reach 

However, a one-point return in a dismal Champions League campaign and consistently poor results against the top sides in La Liga suggest that this is still a squad that needs fresh blood this summer if it's truly going to kick on and compete with the very best. 

There were many positives from their last outing, which was an impressive 3-1 win over in-form Real Sociedad. They took just 23 minutes to score three times in that match, with forwards Gerard Moreno and Georges Mikautadze both getting on the scoresheet. 

One of the key factors in Villarreal's league success this term has been their ability to share the goals around. None of their players have yet reached double figures, but Mikautadze and winger Alberto Moleiro are both on nine league goals, while Moreno has eight. Widemen Nicolas Pépé and Tajon Buchanan have also doubled up as forwards at times, and have netted 11 times between them. 

Team News: 

There are no fresh selection issues for Girona since the Osasuna defeat more than a fortnight ago. Marc-André ter Stegen, Cristian Portu and Donny van de Beek remain sidelined with injuries. 

Míchel may consider changes following a poor display, with Moreno potentially returning at left-back. Iván Martín, Thomas Lemar and Claudio Echeverri will also be hoping to break into the starting lineup. 

As for Villarreal, there's little reason for Marcelino to mix things up after his side swept a strong Real Sociedad outfit away. That was 17 days ago, so they should certainly be well rested heading into this clash, and there are no more cup or European distractions for the side from the Valencian region. 

The visitors are still missing long-term absentees Juan Foyth, Pau Cabanes and Logan Costa due to injuries, but should be at full strength otherwise. 

Match Odds: 

Villarreal are the 5/4 favourites to win this match, while you can back the Draw at 5/2. Girona are given a 2/1 chance of picking up all three points and making amends for their heavy loss at the Estadio de la Cerámica earlier in the season. 

Goals are expected, with Both teams to score priced at 4/7. You can also back Girona to score over 1.5 goals at 11/8, while the hosts are given a 10/11 chance of winning either half. 

If you're expecting the Yellow Submarine to boss this game, you can back the visitors with a -1.00 Handicap at 16/5. They are also priced at 16/5 to win to nil. 

Vanat is the 4/1 favourite in the First Goalscorer market. He's priced at 5/4 to score anytime, while you can back his compatriot Viktor Tsygankov to get on the scoresheet at 23/10. 

From a Villarreal perspective, Moleiro is on offer at 9/4 to register his 10th league goal of an impressive debut campaign for the Yellow Submarine. Meanwhile, Buchanan, who scored a hat-trick in the reverse fixture, is given an 11/4 chance of scoring anytime. 

*You can place a bet on this match and check out all of our Girona vs Villarreal Odds over on betfred.com

Bet 1 - Draw or Villarreal & Most Corners - Girona @ 6/4 via Bet Builder

Under Marcelino's guidance, Villarreal are very much a counterattacking team, particularly on the road. They tend to soak up a lot of pressure and launch a few incisive attacks each match, which has resulted in six road victories so far this term in La Liga. 

They average just 2.64 corners per away game, which is incredibly low for a side set for a top-four finish. With Girona averaging 4.86 corners per 90 minutes at home in the league, there's a high chance that the hosts will have the better of things on that count. 

However, it's just one defeat in 22 matches for the visitors against teams ranked outside the top five of the Spanish top flight this term. That points to value in backing Draw or Villarreal and Girona to have the most corners at odds of 6/4 via the Bet Builder.

Bet 2 - Gerard Moreno to score anytime @ 11/8 

When fit, Gerard Moreno is still arguably the most complete Spanish forward, but the 33-year-old has found it difficult to shake off recurring hamstring issues. He has started more than 15 games in only one of the last five La Liga seasons. 

Those problems and some healthy competition up front have restricted the striker to only 11 league starts so far this term. However, he has still returned eight goals at a strike-rate of one every 108 minutes. 

Those are impressive figures by just about anyone's standards, and he should start this game having successfully battled back to fitness in March to clock up 74 minutes and net against La Real. I'm backing Moreno to score anytime in this match at 11/8. 

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You can check out Mark's Football Betting Tips along with those from the rest of the Betfred Insights Spanish Football writers on our La Liga home page...