Zenit St. Petersburg to take first leg advantage against Villarreal
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Russian side Zenit St. Petersburg, the winners of the 2007-08 Europa League, host Spain’s Villarreal on Thursday night in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie. Zenit go into the fixture having defeated Fenerbahce in the last-32. Sergei Semak’s team are just back from a long winter break on the domestic front.
The club has played just three matches since mid-December with two of those matches coming in the last round of the Europa League. Zenit were beaten by Fenerbahce in their first leg tie, but overcame the Turkish team in the second match to win on aggregate. A Russian Premier League win over Ural followed at the weekend.
Villarreal are doing well on the European stage which is a major contrast to what they are doing in La Liga. The Yellow Submarine are third from bottom in the Spanish top-flight. The good news is there are only two points separating them from safety. Javier Calleja’s side is winless in its last three games with two of those matches ending in losses in La Liga. Villarreal reached the Europa League last-16 by narrowly getting past Sporting Lisbon, 2-1, on aggregate.
The Yellow Submarine won their first leg match against Sporting courtesy of a third minute goal from Alfonso Pedraza. The second leg was much tighter and Sporting levelled the aggregate score thanks to a 45th minute strike from Bruno Fernandes. However, Villarreal inched past their rivals with 10 minutes to play. Pablo Fornals’ goal allowed Villarreal passage into the round of 16.
Neither side have allowed many goals in the Europa League this term. Villarreal have conceded just six goals while Zenit have allowed seven. Neither club has found the back of the net with much regularity either. Therefore, Thursday night’s first leg should be cagey and low scoring.
The weather in St. Petersburg won’t be kind to attractive football. It is expected to be zero degrees and snow is in the forecast. It isn’t a forecast that will excite Villarreal as they travel from southern Spain. Zenit have been difficult to beat at home, and with the weather being cold, it will be an unforgiving environment for their Spanish opponents.
The Yellow Submarine have only scored in two of their five away matches in the Europa League. Their futility on the road will play into the hands of Zenit. The Russians will sneak a goal to win a low scoring affair.
It won’t be a pretty game to watch, but it will be a first leg win for Zenit. Viewers can expect fewer than 1.5 goals as the Russians take the advantage.
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