Sports Mole previews Thursday’s Copa del Rey clash between Chiclana and Villarreal, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Villarreal will look to avoid a cup upset when they travel to Cadiz for Thursday’s Copa del Rey tie against sixth-tier Chiclana.
The hosts, meanwhile, are competing in the main draw after they successfully negotiated their way past Mijas-Las Lagunas in the preliminary round.
Match preview
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In the year they celebrate their 75th anniversary, Chiclana are looking forward to facing top-flight opposition in the first round of the Copa del Rey.
They had to battle their way through a cagey tie against Mijas-Las Lagunas earlier this month to set up Thursday’s memorable contest.
After taking the lead courtesy of an own goal, Chiclana required a crucial penalty save from Fran Sanchez to claim a 1-0 victory over Mijas-Las Lagunas.
Not only have they enjoyed success in the cup, but Chiclana have also performed impressively in their league campaign, picking up 15 points from seven matches to leave them.
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Impressively, they have kept six consecutive clean sheets in the league, and they will need all that defensive resilience if they are to trouble Villarreal on Thursday.
Villarreal have failed to live up to their own high expectations in the opening stages of the new season, having won just four of their 13 matches across all competitions.
Pacheta has been in charge for nine of those matches after being appointed Villarreal boss in early September following the sacking of Quique Setien.
The Villarreal boss would have been relieved to see his side end a five-game winless league run in Sunday’s away meeting with struggling Granada.
The Yellow Submarine threatened to throw away a comfortable lead after a Gerard Moreno brace and an Alexander Sorloth strike had put their side in the driving, but while Granada managed to pull two goals back before half time, Villarreal held firm to secure their third league victory of the season, leaving them in 12th place with 12 points to their name.
Chiclana Copa del Rey form:
Chiclana form (all competitions):
Villarreal form (all competitions):
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Team News
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Sanchez’s penalty save made him one of Chiclana’s heroes in the preliminary round, and he will need to be on his very best form on Thursday if his side are to make it competitive against Villarreal.
Chiclana boss Jose Maria Sauzo could opt to select the same side that started the win over Mijas-Las Lagunas in the previous round.
As for Villarreal, Yeremy Pino, Denis Suarez, Francis Coquelin and Juan Foyth remain sidelined, while Alfonso Pedraza is a doubt after missing Monday’s win over Granada with a knock.
With Pacheta set to make wholesale changes, the experienced Pepe Reina is expected to start in goal, while Kiko Femenia, Aissa Mandi, Jorge Cuenca and Carlos Romero are likely to feature in defence.
There could also be starting places for the likes of Ramon Terrats, Santi Comesana, Ben Brereton Diaz and Jose Luis Morales.
Chiclana possible starting lineup:Sanchez; Fernandez, Montero, Ramos, Leon; Alba, Juanito, Chust, Reyes, Butron; Guerrero
Villarreal possible starting lineup:Reina; Femenia, Mandi, Cuenca, Romero; Terrats, Comesana; Akhomach, Trigueros, Brereton Diaz; Morales
We say: Chiclana 0-5 Villarreal
Chiclana will undoubtedly enjoy Wednesday’s outing no matter the result, but while it is a historic occasion for the host, Villarreal will focus on remaining professional and claiming what should be a comfortable victory.For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:curl
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