Villarreal-Arsenal Preview

Villarreal vs. Arsenal

Tuesday, 7 April 2009 Estadio El Madrigal

Kickoff: 19:45

Villarreal

Villarreal drew 1-1 at home with Panathinaikos in their last Champions League match, winning the fixture 3-2 on aggregate.

In this season's Champions League, Villarreal have won three, drawn four, and lost one, scoring 12 and conceding nine goals in the process.

Villarreal have been hit with the bad news that Spanish International winger Santi Cazorla will miss the rest of the season after breaking his leg in Villarreal's 3-0 loss to Almeria on Saturday.

Arsenal

Arsenal lost 1-0 away to Roma in their last Champions League outing, but won the fixture 7-6 on penalties after winning the first leg 1-0.

In their Champions League campaign this season, Arsenal have won four, drawn three, and lost two, scoring 12 goals and conceding six in the process.

Arsenal will be greatly boosted by the return of Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Adebayor, and Theo Walcott after all three returned for the Gunners' 2-0 weekend victory over Manchester City. Samir Nasri should also be fit for the match after recovering from a flu that kept him out of the weekend Premier League match.

Robin van Persie will miss the match after failing to recover in time from a groin strain, whilst Nicklas Bendtner is fit, but Tomas Rosicky, Abou Diaby, and Eduardo all look to miss out with injuries and Andrei Arshavin is ineligible.

Prediction

Both teams currently sit fourth in their domestic leagues. However, Arsenal are really starting to find their form in the Premier League, having won their last four matches, and with the return of Fabregas, Adebayor, and Walcott from injury, the Gunners are looking more and more like the world-class team that they are clearly capable of being.

Villarreal, on the other hand, have just lost one of their key players to injury in Santi Cazorla and will come into this match off the back of a disappointing 3-0 loss in La Liga to Almeria.

Still, the home advantage for Villarreal may prove crucial, with Arsenal having won one, drawn one, and lost two on the road so far in the group stage and first knockout round, whilst the Spanish side have won two and drawn two in their group and first knockout round matches at home.

Therefore, there may be little to differentiate the two sides on the night and the match could easily go any way. Arsenal, however, look the stronger side overall, so if they can use their superior form to negate the home advantage of Villarreal, then an Arsenal victory could definitely be possible in this match and give the Gunners the advantage heading into next week's reverse Arsenal vs. Villarreal fixture.

Read the complete preview with top football betting odds from the best bookmakers at the Villarreal vs Arsenal Preview page now!

Then Read More Champions League Previews including Manchester United vs Porto and Liverpool vs Chelsea.