Espanyol vs Villarreal Prediction, 8/21/2021 La Liga Soccer Pick, Tips and Odds

by Josh Schonwald - 8/19/2021

Game: Espanyol vs Villarreal

Date: Saturday, August 21, 2021

Location: RCDE Stadium in Barcelona, Spain

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Espanyol (+210) Villarreal (+112)

Boulaye Dia and Villarreal (0-1-0, 15th in La Liga) head to RCDE Stadium on Saturday where they'll take on Espanyol (0-1-0, 12th in La Liga). The goalkeepers who are expected to start are Diego Lopez for Espanyol and Sergio Asenjo for Villarreal. Villarreal are priced at +112 while the Budgerigars are at +210. The O/U is set at 2.5.

Espanyol faced Osasuna in their last matchup and got the draw with a final of 0-0. In regard to passing, they ended with a 76.7% received passes rate by connecting on 280 of the 365 pass targets in their last match. Espanyol attempted 19 dribbles in this outing and converted 11 of those attempts for a rate of 57.9%.

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In terms of shooting accuracy, Espanyol finished the game at a 30.0% rate by putting 3 shots on target of 10 total shots.

Raul De Tomas is a player who should be able to impact this game for Espanyol. He has totaled 13 assists while tallying 36 yellow card warnings during his pro soccer career. Tomas has been a starter in 165 matchups during his pro soccer career and he scores 0.57 goals per 90 mins. The forward representing Spain has earned 92 goals scored in 14,557 mins played.

One more guy who should impact this match is Javi Puado, the midfielder representing Spain. Puado has been on the pitch for 4,546 mins in 50 career starts and has earned himself a total of 6 yellow cards. He has assisted a teammate on a goal 13 times during his pro soccer career while scoring 16 total goals. He currently averages 0.32 goals per 90 so far in his pro soccer career.

The man who is expected to protect the net for Espanyol is Diego Lopez. Lopez (185-106-132 mark in his career) has 124 clean sheets, which has earned him a 28.9% clean sheet rate. The goalkeeper hailing from Spain has faced 1,773 shots attempted against him in 429 starting assignments. His goals against per 90 minutes is 1.2 (525 total goals allowed) and he is the owner of a save % of 71.5%. Lopez has been on the pitch for 38,319 mins and has earned 1,268 stops so far in his career.

For their last outing, Villarreal earned the draw by finishing with a tally of 0-0 against Granada. They wrapped up this match by completing 426 out of their 497 pass attempts earning a percentage of 85.7%. Villarreal had a 53.3% successful dribble percentage by converting 8 out of the 15 dribbles they attempted. Villarreal had 3 shots tried out of the team's 14 shots tried which gave them a 21.4% clip in their last match.

Boulaye Dia should be someone to watch for Villarreal. The forward born in Senegal has totaled 5,579 mins while scoring 24 goals. He has 4 yellow card cautions in his career and has helped a teammate on a goal 2 times. He scores 0.39 goals per 90 and has been given a starting assignment in 65 matches so far in his career. Be sure to watch out for Gerard Moreno, the forward who is from Spain. He has earned 107 goals during his career while helping a teammate on a goal 28 times. Moreno has earned himself 29 yellow cards in 20,978 mins (235 career starts). His G/90 average so far in his career is 0.46.

Sergio Asenjo will be residing in front of the goal for Villarreal. In his career, Asenjo has allowed 345 goals while totaling 885 stops in 291 starting assignments. He has surrendered 1.19 goals per 90 mins and he has earned a mark of 113-79-98. He sports a save % of 72.9 and his clean sheet rate sits at 32.0%. Asenjo has racked up 93 clean sheets while he has seen 1,206 shots tried against him in 26,017 career minutes.

Who will win tonight's La Liga game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Espanyol (+210)

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Espanyol vs Villarreal Prediction, 8/21/2021 La Liga Soccer Pick, Tips and Odds

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