Overview
The 2-3 defeat to Copenhagen in the Champions League, with a decisive goal conceded in the 90th minute, continued to expose problems in Villarreal's defense. The yellow team has conceded at least 2 goals in 6/10 recent matches in all competitions.
Coach Marcelino Garcia's team has only scored 4 goals in the Champions League this season. They have been goalless in 3 of their last 4 matches in European competitions.
Even if they win in the upcoming match, Villarreal still needs other results to be favorable to avoid the risk of being eliminated. They enter the next match in a context of mental decline after the 0-2 defeat to Real Betis last weekend.
That was the fourth defeat in the "Golden Submarine"'s last six appearances, although they had previously won in 2 consecutive matches. Poor performance in Europe is completely opposite to Villarreal's position in La Liga, where they are currently third with 41 points, 7 points behind Real Madrid and 8 points behind Barcelona.
At home at Estadio de la Ceramica, Villarreal has won 2 and lost 1 in the last 3 matches, after winning all 3 matches before that.
On the opposite side, Ajax has the worst defense in the Champions League this season with 18 goals conceded, and also went through a streak of 11 consecutive clean sheets - the longest in their history of participating in the tournament.
The Dutch representative won 3 important points in the previous round when they came back to defeat Qarabag 4-2. They scored 3 goals in just the last 11 minutes to reverse the situation from being led 1-2.
Under the leadership of coach Fred Grim, Ajax is currently ranked third in the Eredivisie with 34 points, but is 18 points behind the leading team PSV Eindhoven - a gap that is almost impossible to close.
The problem lies in the defense when Ajax has conceded at least 2 goals in 15 of their last 19 matches, causing all attacking advantages to be frequently overshadowed.
Personnel situation
Villarreal only has two cases of absence due to long-term injuries, when striker Pau Cabanes and center-back Willy Kambwala both have serious knee problems.
In this match, it is likely that the home team will arrange the attacking duo Nicolas Pepe and Georges Mikautadze to play highest in the attack, behind is the central midfield including Santi Comesana and Daniel Parejo.
In defense, Renato Veiga and Rafa Marin are expected to pair up as central defenders, performing the task of protecting goalkeeper Luiz Junior's goal.
On Ajax' side, striker Wout Weghorst is having an ankle problem and his ability to play is still uncertain. In case the Dutch striker does not recover in time, Kasper Dolberg is likely to be given a starting spot in the center forward position.
In midfield, Ko Itakura may be arranged to pair with Jorthy Mokio and Sean Steur, in order to strengthen the away defense for the away team.
Expected lineup:
Junior, Navarro, Marin, Veiga, Pedraza, Buchanan, Comesana, Parejo, Moleiro, Pepe, Mikautadze.
Jaros, Gaaei, Bouwman, Baas, Rosa, Mokio, Itakura, Steur, Gloukh, Dolberg, Moro.
The match between Villarreal and Ajax takes place at 3:00 AM on January 21 (Vietnam time).
