Villarreal vs Young Boys

Villarreal and Young Boys are set to trade tackles at the Estadio de la Ceramica in a crunch UEFA Champions League encounter.

Villarreal made light work of their Matchday 3 encounter against Young Boys, claiming an overwhelming 4-1 victory after squandering second-half leads against Atalanta and Manchester United beforehand (D1, L1). Though they sit second in Group F ahead of the kick-off, ‘El Submarino Amarillo’ are level on points with third-placed Atalanta and one clear of bottom Young Boys. A tantalizing situation in this group means Villarreal have to secure their first Champions League win on home soil since October 2008 if they are to retain their place in the standings. Indeed, the Spaniards have failed to win any of their previous seven Champions League matches at La Ceramica (D4, L3). Topically, they’ve gone winless in their last two competitive fixtures at this venue (D1, L1) since back-to-back wins in late September and early October, conceding 2+ goals on both occasions.

Meanwhile, Young Boys have failed to build on their blockbuster 2-1 home win over Manchester United in their Group F curtain-raiser, losing their last two Champions League fixtures by an aggregate score of 5-1. Their downfall is likely to continue here, as they’ve gone winless in all four European clashes against Spanish sides (D1, L3) since winning their first-ever such encounter in 1986. The Swiss visitors have also lost all four away matches in the Champions League proper, scoring just one goal across those road trips. Adding to a long list of worries, Young Boys have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last ten Champions League outings. All that, coupled with a 3-1 away defeat to domestic rivals St. Gallen over the weekend, suggests they are not in a good place at the moment.