Villarreal will host Lyon in the second leg of the Europa League in 32nd leg at Estadio de la Ceramica on Friday (23/2/18).
as expected, Lyon and Villarreal produced many goals in their first duel in the Europa League's last 32 round. Lyon managed to advance with a score of 3-1 which makes them in a good position ahead of the second leg match at the Estadio de la Ceramica.
this second leg match should be able to give a similar show, with Villarreal needing some goals early in the match to ease their task to outperform Lyon in aggregate.
the main challenge for Villarreal this time is to keep their back line clean, considering Lyon has a lethal lineup of attackers led by players like Mariano Diaz and Nabil Fekir who have proven sharp in the group phase
in the visitors' squad, Nabil Fekir, Houssem Aouar and Marcelo were rested at the weekend, and will return to the starting XI in this match. But another player Fernando Marçal was suspended for this match, having earned a yellow card last week. memphis Depay may have to settle for filling the bench despite he scored in the first leg.
Villarreal clearly need a goal in this match to get through to the round of 16 large. not just one goal, they need two goals and not conceded to be ahead of Lyon in aggregate. Therefore the role of Carlos Bacca is needed by his team in this match.
This Colombian striker is the main spearhead of Villarreal throughout this season. in the La Liga competition, he has managed to create 8 goals and 4 assists for his team. His ability to put the position well in the penalty box could be troublesome Lyon in this match.
Villareal
Lyon
Lyon's main task in this match is not conceding more than one goal, therefore their focus is on keeping the front-line Villarreal remain shackled throughout the game. But defensive play could backfire for Lyon.
they still need to appear to attack to prevent their defense bombarded by the home team. And the role of Nabil Fekir will be needed by Lyon to continue to provide trouble for the Villarreal defense, in order to ease their defensive burden in the upcoming second leg.