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Villarreal v. Manchester United
It is time to hand out some silverware. The first of UEFA’s two finals is tonight in Poland where Spanish side Villarreal takes on the English giants Manchester United. There are intriguing storylines for both clubs as Villarreal’s manager, Unai Emery, looks to win this competition for a record setting 4th time while Manchester United is looking to win the trophy for the second time in 5 seasons and secure manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer his first Cup with the club.
Manchester United capped off an impressive Premier League season this past weekend as they finished 2nd in the league table. The historic club from the North West of England is starting to ascend back to its position as one of the biggest and most successful clubs in Europe. To finalize this ascent, however, they need to win trophies, and tonight they have that chance. United steamrolled through the Semi-Finals as they beat Roma 8-5 on aggregate, but their performance in the second leg was far from convincing. United’s biggest problem at the moment is the injury to their captain and top defender, Harry Maguire, which has ruled him out for this Final. Maguire is the key to their defense and keeps their back line together. Since his injury, United has lost 2 out of 4 games and have conceded in every match. Tonight, it is Eric Bailly who will fill in and play alongside Victor Lindelof in central defense. United will look to get up the pitch early with their impressive attacking group that is led by veteran striker Edison Cavani and supplanted by elite playmaker Bruno Fernandes as the #10 attacking midfielder. I am fairly certain United will score, but can they avoid conceding? That is the real question.
Villarreal has had a tale of two seasons. In LaLiga they finished 7th, outside of where they would have liked to finish and behind inferior teams such as Real Betis. In the Europa League, however, they have been the best side in the entire competition, failing to lose a single game so far! This is the mark of a Cup winning team, something that their manager, Unai Emery, knows all about considering he has won the Europa League three times already in his managerial career. Villarreal has a well balanced team from the back to the attack. Pau Torres is their top defender and is a rock in central defense with a solid fullback in Juan Foyth opposite him. In the midfield they boast the crafty veteran duo of Daniel Parejo and Etienne Capoue who have logged serious minutes all across Europe in their career. Up front, Villarreal is led by one of the most underrated attackers in Europe, Gerard Moreno, who has as many goal plus assist contributions as Karem Benezma this season with far fewer praise and recognition. Villarreal will be hurt by the injury to dynamic winger Samuel Chukwueze who got hurt in the Semi-Final second leg game against Arsenal.
The Skinny: Manchester United is a better team with more all around quality, but the loss of Maguire seriously hurts their defense. Villarreal is using a 4-4-2 formation to try to slow down United and put pressure on Bruno Fernandes who starts every attack for the Red Devils. This match could easily need extra time considering how tight teams usually play in Finals, trying not to make critical mistakes. In the end, I think the Spanish side will take home the trophy as Unai Emery will add another winners medal to his already impressive European trophy cabinet.
The Bet: Villarreal to Lift the Cup
Alternate Bets: 90 Minute Draw, Under 2.5 Goals, Both Teams to Score
