Victoria vs Villarreal prediction, preview, team news and more | Copa Del Rey 2021-22

Villarreal renew their quest for a first-ever Copa Del Rey title away to Victoria in La Coruna on Wednesday in the first round of the competition.

The Yellow Submarine are looking to recover from back-to-back home defeats last week. The side went down 2-0 to Manchester United in the Champions League before losing 3-1 to Barcelona in La Liga.

Unai Emery, who guided the side to Europa League glory last season, is walking on eggshells right now, with his side winning only twice in their last eight games in all competitions.

They're currently in 12th place in the league with only 16 points from 14 games and will be hoping for a victory here to give the Spanish coach some slack.

Plying their trade in the second division of Spanish football, Victoria are looking to cause a huge upset here, although form isn't on their side right now.

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Victoria vs Villarreal Head-To-Head

This will be the first official encounter between the sides.

Victoria Form Guide (all competitions): W-L-D-L-L

Villarreal Form Guide (all competitions): W-W-D-L-L

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Victoria vs Villarreal Team News

Victoria

Head coach Guillermo Pigueiras won't be able to call upon his captain Andres Perez, who's out with a shoulder injury.

He is likely to play the same lineup that beat Hernani in the qualifying round of the Copa Del Rey.

Injured: Andres Perez

Suspended: None

Unavailable: None

Villarreal

The Yellow Submarine won't have Francis Coquelin and Serge Aurier through injuries. On the bright side, though, top-scorer Gerard Moreno returns and could get a few minutes here.

As is often the case in games like this, Unai Emery might rotate his side heavily and play a weakened lineup, resting first-team stars like Dani Parejo, Arnaut Danjuma, Raul Albiol, Juan Foyth, Etienne Capou and Yeremi Pino.

Injured: Francis Coquelin, Serge Aurier

Suspended: None

Unavailable: None

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Victoria vs Villarreal Predicted XI

Victoria (5-2-1-2): Alejandro Lopez; Sergio Rodríguez, Pablo Plaza, Pipo, Adri Méndez, Miguel Mandayo; Javi Sande, Sergito; Martin Mauriz; Jorge Raña, Iago Pérez.

Villarreal (4-3-3): Sergio Asenjo; Mario Gaspar, Aissa Mandi, Pau Lopez, Pervis Estupiñán; Vicente Iborra, Moi Gómez, Dani Raba; Samuel Chukwueze, Paco Alcácer, Boulaye Dia.

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Victoria vs Villarreal Prediction

Villarreal have incredible strength in depth on the bench, so despite the raft of changes by Emery, the visitors will have enormous quality to bank upon here.

Victoria's form has been patchy and as much as they'd like to cause an upset, the Yellow Submarine will likely have a walk in the park.

Prediction: Victoria 0-3 Villarreal