Villarreal v Espanyol preview: 10th host 18th in La Liga
Villarreal welcome struggling Espanyol on matchday 11 of La Liga, having won both of the last 2 meetings between the clubs.
The occasion and the table
Villarreal host Espanyol on matchday 11 of La Liga, with kick-off at 20:00 on 30 October 2026. The two clubs arrive at very different points in the table.
Villarreal sit 10th with 12 points from 10 matches. Their record reads 3 wins, 3 draws and 4 defeats, with 15 goals scored and 14 conceded.
Espanyol are 18th with 8 points from their 10 matches. They have 2 wins, 2 draws and 6 defeats, scoring 12 goals and conceding 14.
Recent form and home and away records
Villarreal come into the match on the back of a 5-0 away win against Manacor. Before that, they won 2-1 away at Valencia, and before that they lost 3-4 away at Liverpool. Earlier still came a 0-0 home draw with Elche, and before that a 3-1 home win against Napoli. That gives Villarreal 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat from their last 5 matches.
Espanyol’s recent run has been much harder. Their most recent match was a 3-4 away defeat against Sestao. Before that, they lost 1-2 away at Racing Santander, and before that they were beaten 0-1 at home by Atlético Madrid. Earlier, they drew 1-1 away at Málaga, and before that they lost 1-3 at home to Elche. That leaves Espanyol with 0 wins, 1 draw and 4 defeats from their last 5 matches.
Villarreal’s home record in the league this season has been less convincing than their overall form. They have played 4 matches at home, winning 1, drawing 1 and losing 2, with 6 goals scored and 6 conceded.
Away from home in the league, Espanyol have played 5, winning 1, drawing 1 and losing 3. They have scored 6 goals on their travels and conceded 7.
Previous meetings
Villarreal have won both of the last 2 meetings between the clubs. On 9 February 2026, the match finished Villarreal 4-1 Espanyol. Before that, on 8 November 2025, it ended Espanyol 0-2 Villarreal.
Players to watch
Georges Mikautadze is Villarreal’s top scorer in La Liga this season with 3 goals.
For Espanyol, Roberto Fernandez Jaen leads the way with 6 goals in the league this season. That total is twice Mikautadze’s, which makes him the leading individual scorer of the two sides heading into the match.
How the two sides tend to play
The numbers point to two teams that are regularly involved in goals. Villarreal have scored 15 and conceded 14 in their 10 league matches. In their last 5 matches, they scored in 4, kept a clean sheet in 2, and both teams scored in 3.
Espanyol have conceded the same number of league goals as Villarreal, 14, but have scored fewer, with 12. In their last 5 matches, they scored in 4 but kept a clean sheet in 0, and both teams scored in 4 of those games.
Those figures suggest that Espanyol have found ways to score even during a difficult run, but they have struggled to keep opponents out. Villarreal’s 2 clean sheets in their last 5 matches give them a slightly firmer recent defensive record. Their home figures of 6 scored and 6 conceded show that matches at their own ground have been evenly balanced.
Estimated win chances
Estimated win chances based on market data, computed by goal888 with the margin removed, are: Villarreal 66%, draw 19%, Espanyol 15%. These figures are estimates and not a prediction of the result.
Calculated from market prices, not a prediction or betting advice.
Teams in this story
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