Villarreal Favourites in Europa Conference League Home Tie Against HNK Hajduk Split
Villarreal CF vs Hajduk Split - 18/08/2022
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We have reached the playoff round of the 2022/23 Europa Conference League and on the 18th of August we have a meeting between Villarreal and HNK Hajduk Split.
This is the first leg of the tie and it will be played at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia due to ongoing work at the Estadio de la Cerámica.
Villarreal come into the game having made a strong start in La Liga on the weekend. They recorded a good 3-0 win at Real Valladolid with all 3 goals coming in the second half.
Having opened the scoring in the 49th minute, Villarreal scored 2 more goals in the final 9 minutes of the match.
That was the first competitive fixture of the season for Villarreal but they enjoyed a good preseason, with wins over PSV Eindhoven, Borussia Dortmund, Southampton, and Inter Milan.
This game will be the first time Villarreal have participated in the Europa Conference League. However, they have a good recent history in European competition and reached the semi-final of the Champions League last season.
They also won the 2020/21 Europa League, beating Manchester United in the final, so have had plenty of success in recent European competitions.
Villarreal beat Bayern Munich and held Juventus to a draw at home in the Champions League last season and will therefore fancy their chances of heading to Croatia for the second leg of this tie with a lead to defend.
HNK Hajduk Split travel to the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia on the back of a disappointing 4-1 defeat at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb in a big domestic league game on the weekend.
Having opened the scoring on the stroke of half time, HNK Hajduk Split were in a great position going into the second half.
However, things quickly turned against them in a 4 minute spell after the hour mark and HNK Hajduk Split were 2-1 down. Dinamo Zagreb scored 2 more goals in the final 6 minutes.
That result means HNK Hajduk Split have lost their last 2 games in all competition. They were defeated 1-0 at Vitoria Guimaraes in the third qualifying round of the Europa Conference League but progressed courtesy of their 3-1 win in the first leg.
Away form in the Europa Conference League shows HNK Hajduk Split have lost their 2 away matches in the competition, conceding 5 goals and scoring only one.
Looking ahead to the team news and Villarreal are without the injured trio of Alberto Moreno, Manu Trigueros, and Kiko Femenia.
HNK Hajduk Split could make a couple of changes from the team that played at Vitoria Guimaraes, with Toni Borevković, Stipe Biuk, and Chidozie Awaziem all hoping to start.
This should be a routine win for an experienced European club like Villarreal. The aim will be to keep a clean sheet and the Spaniards should be successful, with a couple of goals being enough to take a comfortable lead to Croatia for the second leg.
Home team
Away team
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
ECL
501634
1
2 - 0
2.49
27°
1.30
1.30
4.75
8.50
no
no
no
4 - 2(4 - 1)
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