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Oct 20, 2021 at 8pm UK
Young BoysYoung Boys
1-4
VillarrealVillarreal
Elia (77')
Aebischer (45')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Pino (6'), Moreno (16'), Moreno (88'), Chukwueze (90+2')
Rulli (87')

Preview: Young Boys vs. Villarreal - prediction, team news, lineups

:Headline: Preview: Young Boys vs. Villarreal - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Champions League clash between Young Boys and Villarreal, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sports Mole

Two sides who are slightly underperforming in the early stages of their respective leagues meet in the Champions League on Wednesday, as Young Boys welcome Villarreal to The Wankdorf Stadium.

The Swiss side are currently third in the Swiss Super League - which they have won in each of the past four seasons - and their opponents find themselves in the bottom half of La Liga.


Match preview

Underperforming is perhaps a slightly harsh description for Young Boys, who are just four points off Basel in top spot with a game in hand, but their standards are very high in their native league.

YB were able to rescue a point in their most recent game at home to Luzern through a stoppage-time goal from Moumi Ngamaleu, after having fallen behind to a penalty on the half-hour mark and then spent almost an hour playing with 10 men thanks to a red card for Christopher Martins.

Whilst they are favourites in the Super League, David Wagner's side are underdogs in Champions League Group F, but that did not stop them producing a shock 2-1 giant-killing of Manchester United in the opening match, aided by Aaron Wan-Bissaka's dismissal in the first half.

They were then somewhat brought back down to earth in the second game, however, as they lost 1-0 away to Atalanta BC when Matteo Pessina became the first Italian to score for the Serie A side in the Champions League.

Nonetheless, Young Boys still sit second in the group and a win on Wednesday would put them in a strong position to reach the knockout stages for the first time in their history.

Villarreal will be desperate to win themselves, though, as anything else will leave them with a mountain to climb in the second round of group fixtures.

A 2-2 draw with Atalanta in their opening game was a reasonable start to proceedings - although they would have been disappointed to give up the lead in the 83rd minute.

However, their second game featured a Manchester United turnaround as the Red Devils got their revenge four months after losing to Villarreal in the Europa League final - Alex Telles equalising on the hour mark and Cristiano Ronaldo grabbing the winner in the 95th minute.

That leaves the Yellow Submarine with just one point to show for their endeavours, bottom of Group F, and on a less-than-ideal run of form in all competitions.

Unai Emery's men started the season slowly, drawing five of their six opening La Liga matches, and a 2-1 loss at home to Osasuna at the weekend - again, thanks to a late winner - sees them down in 11th in the standings and with an unfortunate habit developing of dropping points just before the final whistle.

Young Boys Champions League form:
  • W
  • L

Young Boys form (all competitions):
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • D

Villarreal Champions League form:
  • D
  • L

Villarreal form (all competitions):
  • D
  • W
  • D
  • L
  • W
  • L

Team News

Young Boys have something of an injury crisis on their hands, with six players sidelined ahead of Wednesday's game.

Fabian Lustenberger, Esteban Petignat and Jean-Pierre Nsame are long-term absences with either ACL or Achilles injuries, whilst it looks slightly too early for Joel Monteiro (knee), Cedric Zesiger (foot) or Leandro Zbinden (muscle) to return.

This is not a new crisis, though, and Wagner could, in fact, name an unchanged starting XI from the last Champions League game.

Villarreal, on the other hand, have no such injury worries and Emery has the luxury of a full squad to choose from.

Francis Coquelin returns from suspension but may not break into the XI, which looks set to line up in a 4-3-3 formation with Gerard Moreno leading the line.

Young Boys possible starting lineup:
Von Ballmoos; Hefti, Camara, Lauper, Garcia; Aebischer, Pereira, Sierro; Elia, Siebatcheu, Ngamaleu

Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Foyth, Albiol, Torres, Moreno; Trigueros, Parejo, Capoue; Danjuma, Moreno, Pino


We say: Young Boys 1-1 Villarreal

Villarreal may not be in the best form right now, but they have still lost just once in five away matches this season. Young Boys will test them and have been strong at home, but we are backing Emery's side to hang on for yet another draw.







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Swiss Super League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1FC Zurich16104237241334
2Basel1586133141930
3LuganoLugano169252418629
4Young Boys1574433181525
5Grasshopper ZurichGrasshopper165652923621
6Servette166372831-321
7Sion165381931-1218
8St GallenSt Gallen164392035-1515
9Lausanne SportLausanne162681732-1512
10Luzern161781933-1410
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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City1511223292335
2Liverpool15104144123234
3Chelsea1510323592633
4West Ham UnitedWest Ham158342819927
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs148151617-125
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd157352524124
7Arsenal147251720-323
8Wolverhampton WanderersWolves156361213-121
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton154831416-220
10Aston Villa156182124-319
11Leicester CityLeicester155462327-419
12Brentford154561921-217
13Crystal Palace153751921-216
14Leeds UnitedLeeds153751522-716
15Southampton153751421-716
16Everton144371724-715
17Watford1541102029-913
18Burnley141761421-710
19Newcastle UnitedNewcastle151771730-1310
20Norwich CityNorwich15249831-2310
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