Steaua Bucharest vs Villarreal Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

Steaua Bucharest are 10 games into their league season and are top of the Romanian top flight so they’ll be reasonably content with how things are going right now. However, they’ve struggled against stronger opposition in Europe so far this season. They were hammered 6-0 on aggregate by Manchester City in the Champions League play-off round which included a 5-0 home defeat in the 1st Leg. Their resulting Europa League campaign got off to a poor start too with a 2-0 defeat in Turkey against Osmanlıspor a fortnight ago and defeat here would leave them in a precarious position.

Villarreal are coming into this game full of confidence too following a really good run of form. They are unbeaten in 6 matches now and have won 4 of their last 5 games in all competitions. An easy 3-1 home win against Osasuna on Sunday saw them rise into the top four of La Liga where they finished last season and they were 2-1 winners in their first Europa League game at home to Swiss side Zurich. New coach Fran Escribá has got them playing some good football again and their slick passing game might just be too much for Steaua here.

The Romanians were beaten 2-1 at home by Cluj in their last league home match and were reliant on a late winner at the weekend to see off Voluntari 3-2. Defensively they look a bit fragile and Villarreal certainly have the tools to unlock the gaps in their defence. That defeat against Man City might just have left a few mental scars too. Villarreal don’t have as much quality as the English club but they play a similar style of football and are pretty good employers of it.

There is a gulf in class here and given that, backing Villarreal to Win at 5/4 looks to offer value.