Villarreal vs Zurich Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

Villarreal were hoping to make their return to the Champions League group stage this week but it wasn’t to be, after their disappointing 3-1 aggregate defeat against Monaco in the play-off round of that competition. They were thrown into turmoil really when coach Marcelino departed just a matter of days before that tie but there are now at least signs that new coach Fran Escribá is steadying the ship.

Their last two performances have been much improved. Villarreal had the better of a 0-0 draw against Sevilla and then picked up their first win of the new season by winning 2-0 at Malaga at the weekend, with new signing Nicola Sansone among the scorers. They have invested quite a bit of money in the squad in the anticipation of Champions League football so Villarreal should have a good chance of doing well in this competition, especially given they made the Semi-Finals last term.

A home game against FC Zurich should be a pretty gentle introduction. Zurich visited El Madrigal 2 years ago and lost 4-1 and have since been relegated from the Swiss top flight. They almost inexplicably finished bottom of the Swiss Super League last season. But still managed to win the cup to ensure they’d go straight into the Europa League group stage and play in Europe for the 4th season running. They’ve made a good start to life in the Second Tier in Switzerland, winning 6 of their opening 7 gamesand are red hot favourites for promotion, but clearly a game away at Villarreal is going to be a considerably tougher task.

Villarreal will feel like their season is now finally up and running after that win at Malaga and they’ll come into this game with renewed confidence. It’s hard to see anything other than a relatively comfortable home win, given this game sees the side that finished 4th in La Liga last term up against a side from the Swiss Second Tier. Therefore, backing Villarreal -2.0 Asian Handicap at 1.850 looks to offer value.