Only one point clear of the relegation zone, Sporting de Gijon are set to become embroiled in an almighty relegation dogfight that is likely to last the duration of the campaign. Manuel Preciado’s side have shown themselves to be incapable of stringing a series of good results together, but they are strong enough at El Molinon to believe they can be competitive against Villarreal this weekend.
Away from home, los Rojiblancos tend to struggle. Already this season they’ve lost on three of the four occasions they’ve played on the road. Facing Preciado’s team at El Molinon is a different story, however, as they have lost only one fixture at the venue this season.
Their poor form continued in midweek, when a trip to Mallorca resulted in a resounding 3-1 defeat, leaving the Asturias side on the verge of an early exit. That followed a thumping 3-0 loss in Getafe last weekend, which was a match that Sporting simply never got to grips with.
Aside from a decent home record, cause for optimism is thin on the ground. With only two league wins since mid-March, the Gijon club can at least draw comfort from the fact that they beat Villarreal at El Molinon almost a year ago. The 1-0 scoreline certainly wasn’t spectacular on that occasion, but this time around it would exceed expectations.
Going Strong
Villarreal are unbeaten in the Primera Division since an opening day loss against Real Sociedad had pundits questioning the Yellow Submarine’s course. In total, Juan Carlos Garrido’s side have dropped only five points this season, spilling two in an away fixture against Hercules by way of a 2-2 draw.
That set-back came only a fortnight ago, but the men from El Madrigal bounced back impressively last weekend to earn a 2-0 victory over Atletico Madrid. Success didn’t come without controversy, as the men from the capital seemed to be on the wrong end of several refereeing decisions, but the hosts were unforgiving as they struck through Cani and Giuseppe Rossi to earn three points that kept them right in tough with Real Madrid at the summit of the table.
It’s early in the season to be talking of the Yellow Submarine as potential title candidates, as any dip in form will surely be punished by los Blancos and Barcelona. In midweek, Villarreal showed signs of frailty as they drew 1-1 with Poli Ejido in the Copa del Rey, admittedly having fielded a significantly changed squad.
“We cannot be happy because we had many chances and should have scored more goals,” Garrido fumed after the fixture, promising that he wouldn’t be “lenient” on his players, despite their excellent start to the campaign.
Playing with fluidity and understanding at home, Villarreal are yet to gain any real rhythm on the road, so Sunday’s trip to northern Spain is a dangerous one.
TEAM NEWS
Sporting
A whole array of first team players were rested in midweek and all will regain a spot in the squad for the weekend. Sebastian Eguren and Sergio Alvarez, who was one of the stars of the midweek game, have both returned with knocks and will require late checks.
Villarreal
After rotating significantly in midweek, Juan Carlos Garrido will restore all of his first choice picks for the weekend trip to Gijon. Marco Ruben missed the midweek clash due to injury.
Prediction
If Villarreal are to mount a challenge for the title, this is exactly the kind of game they need to be winning. They may not possess the best individuals, but they have a system which is very effective for them, and they will therefore be confident of going to El Molinon and earning three points. Sporting, however, should not be taken lightly on their own patch and have it within themselves to get a draw from this encounter.
Sporting de Gijon 1-1 Villarreal 
