The Yellow Submarine are ready to solidify their current UEFA Champions League standing at home against Mallorca, but Michael Laudrup has fielded a strong side with dangerous players that can challenge Villarreal. The formations look similar on paper, especially with Jonathan de Guzman listed as a forward by most sites for some strange reason, but practice is likely to be a different story with Mallorca attempting to win the midfield battle and playing the more defensive style between the two sides. Here are your lineups.
Villarreal Vs. Mallorca: Pre-Match Primer
Villarreal Lineup (4-4-2): Lopez / Capdevila, Lopez, Musacchio, Lopez, Gonzalo / Cani, Bruno, Valero, Carzola / Rossi, Nilmar
Mallorca Lineup (4-4-1-1): Aouate / Nunes, Ramis, Ayoze, Lopez / Castro, Marti, Victor, Pereira / de Guzman / Webo
Both of these teams are very capable of playing a possession-oriented game and playing on the counter, so the tactics of this match are more likely to evolve over the course of the game than be set in stone early on. Laudrup and Juan Carlos Garrido are likely to let the teams feel each other out and adjust their tactics accordingly as the match goes on. However, the thing about having players like Nilmar, Rossi, and Carzola is that they can often make tactics irrelevant. Laudrup could have the best gameplan in the world and these three could blow the match wide open.
The amount that de Guzman is allowed to influence the match could have a massive impact on whether or not Mallorca have a serious chance. He will likely have very extensive offensive and defensive responsibilities and his ability to transition between the two, both getting into defensive position and getting time on the ball will be key.
The match kicks off at 12 pm ET and we’ll be covering the whole thing live.
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