Prediction La Liga - Villarreal vs Atletico Madrid

La Liga - Villarreal vs Atletico Madrid
Match Time: 02-04-2024 03:00 Tuesday (GMT+8)
Football Livescore | Match Prediction & Tips
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Villarreal

Villarreal struggled for consistency in the first half of the 2023-24 campaign, but their form in Spain's top flight since the turn of the year has been impressive, and the home side will bring a nine-game unbeaten run in La Liga into this contest.

Marcelino's side have been victorious in their last four league games against Real Sociedad, Granada, Real Betis and Valencia, and they have risen into ninth spot in the table, boasting 38 points from 29 matches.

The Yellow Submarine are now eight points off sixth-placed Real Sociedad in the race to secure European action, and it would be some achievement for them to claim European football for next season considering that they were in the bottom half of the division not too long ago.

Villarreal were knocked out of the Europa League by Marseille in the round of 16, so their focus is only on La Liga for the rest of the season, with their next two games against Atletico and Athletic Bilbao.

Marcelino's team only boast the 14th-best home record in La Liga this season, picking up just 19 points from 15 matches, but Atletico have struggled on their travels, suffering seven defeats from 14 games.

Atletico Madrid

Atletico, meanwhile, lost 3-0 at home to Barcelona before the international break, with the disappointing result leaving them fifth in the table, one point behind fourth-placed Athletic.

Diego Simeone's side are in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, with Borussia Dortmund their opponents over two legs, and the first leg will take place at Wanda Metropolitano on April 10.

The Red and Whites have actually now lost their last two league games, though, also going down 2-0 at struggling Cadiz on March 9, and they now face two tough fixtures against Villarreal and Girona.

Atletico will be desperate to enter their first game with Dortmund off the back of a positive result on Monday, but they have been beaten in four of their last five away fixtures in all competitions and have not been victorious on their travels since a 1-0 success over Granada on January 22.

The capital side recorded a 3-1 win over Villarreal in the reverse match earlier this season, but the points were shared in a 2-2 draw when the two teams locked horns in the corresponding game last term.

Prediction: Villarreal 1-1 Atletico Madrid