“Villarreal” after the defeat with “Mallorca” (2:4) was able to pull himself together and show excellent football. In the next 4 rounds, the team turned out to be a head ahead of the opponent in terms of expected goals scored.
Thanks to this, the “yellow submarine” was able to reduce the gap to the Champions League zone to 7 points, and if they win this meeting, the gap will be reduced to 4. On average, per game under Quique Setien, Villarreal create 1.41 xg with 1 allowed, 3xg.
Real Sociedad uses the gegenpressing model in its game. In terms of pressure intensity (ppda = 8.8) it is unmatched by the Example. This style allows you to move the game away from your own goal, so that in terms of the quality of defense (xga = 0.84), the team is second only to Barcelona (xga = 0.8). However, attack potential suffers (xg = 1.3).
The white-and-blue players look good at home, but they cannot show the same level of competition when away from home. The last successful trip in which the club surpassed the opponent in both games and points was in January.
I think Villarreal, who are in form, will be closer to winning this match.