Kick-off: 2000, 15/04/2021
Stadium: El Madrigal
TV: BT Sport
Villarreal are firmly on course to continue Spain’s proud Europa League record after returning from Croatia with a 1-0 advantage over Dinamo Zagreb.
The Yellow Submarines put in a professional display to prevail in that opening encounter and it is hard to see a way back into this tie for their opponents.
We like 23/20 for Unai Emery’s men to win to nil again for our initial Villarreal vs Dinamo Zagreb prediction.
A Look At Villarreal’s Betting Odds
Dinamo did have an early Mislav Orsic goal ruled out for offside on home turf and troubled Villarreal via Lovro Majer and Rasmus Lauritsen.
However, the turning point came when Kevin Theophile-Catherine was rather harshly penalised for handball and Gerard Moreno made no mistake from the spot.
Substitute Paco Alcacer should have done better when put through on goal and Manu Trigueros had a long-range effort tipped over the bar.
“We played a good game and scored the goal at the best possible time,” said former Tottenham and Watford midfielder Etienne Capoue.
“In the second half, we could have scored another goal or two, as we were dominating.”
Emery highlighted how much this competition means to him by resting players for Sunday’s surprise 2-1 La Liga loss to Osasuna here.
The Yellow Submarines can at least justify that decision by easing through, with 21/10 for a home win and under 2.5 goals standing out from the Villarreal vs Dinamo Zagreb odds.
A Look At Dinamo Zagreb’s Betting Odds
Dinamo hold a narrow lead in Croatia’s top flight after recovering from that defeat to beat neighbours Lokomotiv 2-0 in a Zagreb derby.
They have already pulled off one famous fightback when upsetting Tottenham 3-0 at Stadion Maksimir after losing 2-0 in London.
The Blues can also take heart from their group-stage away record, winning at Wolfsberger and Feyenoord following a goalless draw with CSKA in Moscow.
A 3-2 victory at Krasnodar in the first knockout round was another notable effort from Zoran Mamic’s men.
Defender Lauritsen told UEFA: “We still have 90 minutes in Spain, I believe we can do it, I really believe.
“That’s football, we did it against Tottenham, we showed we can do it, why wouldn’t we do it again?”
However, a decision to start Bruno Petkovic on the bench in the opening encounter left them looking short of firepower.
Let’s finish off our Villarreal vs Dinamo Zagreb betting tips by taking 10/11 for Moreno to net again in another Yellow Submarines win.
The Spain striker has struck seven times in his last four club starts!
Additional stats
First-leg result:
DINAMO ZAGREB 0-1 VILLARREAL – Gerard Moreno (pen)
Previous head-to-head: Villarreal 3-0 Dinamo Zagreb, Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 Villarreal
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