Valencia will see off local rivals Villarreal
They reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2005-06 and are through to the knockout rounds of this season's Europa League, but don't be fooled into thinking that Villarreal are a successful cup team.
Never in the Yellow Submarine's 87-year history have they won the Copa del Rey or even reached the final, while they've only earned a place in the quarter-finals in one of the last eight seasons.
Contrast that underwhelming record with that of their opponents in Tuesday night's televised round-of-16 first leg tie, Valencia, who have appeared in 16 finals and taken the trophy seven times, most recently in 2007-08, and it's easy to see why, despite boasting a five-point advantage over their local rivals in La Liga, Villarreal are [3.75] outsiders.
Villarreal have made the 65-kilometre trip home from the Mestalla in high spirits on numerous occasions over the last few years yet suffered their first defeat in five visits back in January when they were thumped 4-1 by Los Che.
Another telling statistic that illustrates the contrasting cup records of both clubs is that they have met over two legs twice in the last decade - in the 2003-04 UEFA Cup semi-finals and at the same stage of this competition in 2005-06 - and Valencia progressed on both occasions, most impressively of all without conceding a goal in any of the four encounters.
Given that psychological boost, odds of [2.14] on Valencia sending their fans into the Christmas interval with smiles on their faces looks very attractive, while [2.92] on them keeping another cup clean sheet against Villarreal is worth considering.
All indications point to the hosts' coach Unai Emery, who has already hit the headlines this week for labelling Jose Mourinho a cry baby in response to his refereeing rant, fielding a strong side, as regulars like Miguel, Joaquin and Aritz Aduriz all started in the last round - and that was against third-tier UD Logrones.
Valencia v Villarreal
Kick-off: 9pm
Live on Sky Sports 2
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Published: 21 Dec 2010
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