Villarreal – Zenit Petersburg SOCCER PICKS
Villarreal and Zenit St. Petersburg meet at the Ceramic Stadium, in a return match for this stage of the UEFA Europa League (8th Finals), after the victory outside Villarreal by (1-3) in the first leg. the Zenit St. Petersburg presents considerable differences in their results at home and as a visitor, so in this game the home factor may be decisive.
Villarreal:
After the victory was by (1-3), the home team comes to this second leg with a 2-goal advantage. This is a team that usually maintains its competitive level in home and away matches, since in the last 30 matches they register 3 wins, 7 draws and 5 losses in away matches; against 5 wins, 7 draws and 3 losses at their stadium. The team comes to this match after a win away with Levante by (0-2). Villarreal won 2 and drew 2 of their last 4 home games for the UEFA Europa League.
For this competition, he does not lose 9 games. Their attack has scored regularly, since they have scored goals in 7 of the last 9 matches for this competition.
Villarreal reach this game with a victory, by 0-2, in the displacement to Levante, in a game for the Spanish championship. In the first leg, against Zenit, Villarreal won a great triumph by 1-3. In this game against the fans, coach Javier Calleja must maintain the 3-5-2, with Iborra and Cazorla being the ones most responsible for organizing and creating the offensive process. On the other hand, the advanced Toko Ekambi is the best score of the team in official competitions, with 12 goals scored. For this game the coach can not count on Manu Trigueros and Bonera, both injured.
Zenit St. Petersburg:
After the defeat at home, the visiting team comes to this second leg with a dismay of 2 goals and with the difficult task of recovering this negative result as a visitor. This is a team that usually makes good use of the home advantage, stronger with the help of its supporters, since in the last 30 matches they register 6 wins, 2 draws and 7 losses in away matches, with 21 goals scored and 18 conceded; against 10 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses at their stadium, with 24 goals scored and 19 conceded. The team comes to this match after a home victory over Ufa by (2-1). In the last 6 away matches for the UEFA Europa League, Zenit Saint Petersburg drew 2 and lost 4.
For this competition, they have not won any of the last 6 away matches. The team has conceded goals in 8 of the last 10 matches, so they have not presented great defensive solidity, but their offense has scored consistently, as they have scored goals in 8 of the last 10 matches for this competition. In 13 matches in this competition, they only got 2 comebacks in the 7 matches they suffered the first goal.
Zenit St. Petersburg come into this game with a 2-1 victory at the reception of Ufa, in a game for the Russian championship: the goals of the team were marked by Rigoni and Azmoun. We remind that visitors need to win to advance in this competition. However, coach Sergey Semak must opt for a more defensive strategy, exploring only the space in the opponent’s back. The striker Artem Dzyuba is the great highlight of the visitors, with 10 goals scored. There are no absences of weight for this game.
