La Liga: Surprise Top Six Duo Take Pundits by Surprise

Espanyol vs Villarreal

Take a closer look at the La Liga table and you may get a surprise. Yes, you know that the largely dominant duo of Real Madrid and Barcelona generally occupy the top two spots and are on course for a title tilt.

But it’s Villarreal who sit in third place, with just two league defeats to their name, while the name in sixth place may surprise you – especially when you consider that Espanyol finished in lowly 14^th place last term, just two points clear of safety.

It all means it’s sixth versus third this weekend with the potential for La Liga 2025 highlights.

 

Talking Points

That the visitors are enjoying such a spell is an extra fine achievement given they sold two of their best attackers this summer with the departures of Alex Baena and Thierno Barry to Atletico Madrid and Everton, respectively. Baena was the team’s top playmaker with seven league goals and 10 assists, while Barry had 11 league goals and four assists last season.

They suffered a blow in the Champions League in midweek when they went down to a shock defeat to Cypriot champions Pafos, so Marcelino’s men will be eager to bounce back when they travel to Catalonia on Saturday night.

That could mean recalls for Gerard Moreno, Santi Comesana, Thomas Partey, and Alfonso Pedraza, while Ayoze Perez – who proved the matchwinner with a double in this fixture last season – may drop to the bench. Expect Georges Mikautadze to feature through the middle, although Logan Costa, one-time Man United starlet Willy Kambwala, and Pau Cabanes will miss the match due to injury.

Espanyol are reaping the rewards of a fast start to the season in which they secured 10 points from their first four games, with an eye-catching win over Atletico Madrid, followed up by victories over Osasuna and Real Mallorca, and a draw against Real Sociedad.

Few expected Los Periquitos to start so well, given they were only narrowly above the drop zone last term, with many thinking this year would be one of consolidation.

Manolo Gonzalez’s side come into the encounter off the back of a disappointing defeat at Alaves last Sunday.

They will once more be without the services of captain Javi Puado, but the hosts are otherwise in good shape. The in-form Pere Milla has scored four times, while Roberto Fernandez has two goals and three assists, and will also be one to watch.

Gonzalez has impressed in the hot seat and is regarded as a bright young manager who has teamed up with sporting director Fran Garagarza to strengthen, despite selling the in-demand Joan Garcia (to city rivals Barcelona), whose masterclass of goalkeeping, more than any other single reason, preserved their top-flight status last term.

Victory against Villarreal will ensure Espanyol further impress the growing list of admirers with their start to the season. At the RCDE Stadium, they will certainly be cheered on by some of the most passionate fans in the country.

 

History

Villarreal have the edge over the years with 21 victories, and a further 21 draws, compared to Espanyol’s 12 successes. In fact, Espanyol have only defeated them once on home soil in the past 17 years.

That came in October 2018 when two goals from Sergi Darder and Pablo Piatti in the final 11 minutes sealed a 3-1 home win after earlier strikes from Hernan Perez and Karl Toko Ekambi.

It’s been seven games since Espanyol last beat Villarreal, and the last five meetings have all gone the way of the “Yellow Submarine”. Last season in the corresponding fixture, a double from Perez sealed the points to cancel out Jofre Carreras’ opener.

In the return contest in April, Yeremy Pino netted the only goal to keep alive their ultimately successful Champions League bid.

 

Betting Tip

Villarreal are slight favourites with the SBOTOP La Liga 2025 betting odds.

You can back the visitors with Asian Handicap odds -0.25 @ 2.08 or 1X2 @ 2.29, while an Espanyol victory would earn you a slightly tidier pay day with bets which include 1X2 @ 2.76 and Asian Handicap -0.25 @ 2.47.

A re-run of their meeting seven months ago will pay out @ 8.80 with Correct Score 1-2, while you can get odds of Total Goal 2-3 @ 2.01, 4-6 @ 3.02, and over 3.00 @ 2.31.

I have been tempted by Total Goal 0-1 @ 3.51 as I think this will be tight. But in the end, I am going for a draw.

   

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