Villarreal v Manchester United Betting: Cavani features in 11/2 & 14/1 bets for the Europa League final

Manchester United travel to Gdansk in search of Europa League glory as they face Villarreal in Poland on Wednesday evening. Significant improvement has been made at Old Trafford this season and a win here would top off a successful season.

United may not have things all their own way, as Villarreal certainly are not here to make up the numbers. Manager Unai Emery has lifted this trophy on a remarkable three occasions, all of which came at Sevilla, and his expertise in finals could well be a factor to consider. 

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are priced at 5/6 to get the job done in 90 minutes and 2/5 with most bookmakers to lift the trophy. For those in favour of a triumph for the Yellow Submarine, they can be backed at 7/2 to win in normal time, or at 2/1 to lift the trophy.

Here at BettingOdds.com we’ve taken a look at some of the data behind the players involved and have picked out two bets we like the look of. One player we’ve drawn to is Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani, who has been in excellent form lately and we expect him to start on Wednesday. One of the 34-year-old’s key attributes is his heading and we’ve taken a lead towards two bets we like the look of at 9/2 and 14/1 with Paddy Power.

First up let’s take a look at the players with the most headed goals in the Premier League for the 2020/2021 campaign. It’s Everton Dominic Calvert Lewin who tops the charts this term, with seven goals coming via his swede in a successful season for the Everton frontman. 

On yer Ed-inson

Most Headed Goals Premier League 2020/2021

• 7 - Dominic Calvert-Lewin
• 6 - Edinson Cavani
• 6 - Christian Benteke
• 4 - Harry Kane
• 4 - Kurt Zouma
• 4 - Lewis Dunk

Manchester United’s Edinson Cavani’s tally of six headed goals becomes more impressive when you consider that he’s started 19 fewer league games than Dominic Calvert-Lewin this term. Cavani started 13 matches and appeared a further 13 times from the bench throughout 20/21 and when we look at the headed goals per 90 minutes data for players with at least 5 starts this season, the Uruguayan leads the way. 

Headed Goals Per 90 Minutes Premier League 2020/2021 (minimum 5 appearances)

• 0.39 - Edinson Cavani 
• 0.30 - Christian Benteke
• 0.24 - Diogo Jota
• 0.22 - Dominic Calvert-Lewin
• 0.20 - Gareth Bale
• 0.18 - Kurt Zouma
• 0.18 - Joseph Willock

A man in great form

Approaching the tailend of his career, some fans questioned whether Cavani would be able to cut it at Manchester United, but he’s certainly stepped up and put in some world class displays when called upon.

The former PSG striker’s goal against Fulham on the penultimate day of the season was his ninth goal in his last ten appearances and his audacious lob over goalkeeper Alphonse Areola from 35-yards will long live in the memory of the Red Army.

In the semi-final games against Roma Cavani was a joy to watch, bagging himself four goals over the two games - one of those coming courtesy of his head. In total, Cavani has scored four goals via his head in his last 10 appearances. 

Four of those appearances came from the substitutes bench and off with all things considered we’re willing to have a punt on the Uruguayan to have 1+ headed shot on target at 9/2 with Paddy Power. 

Clinical

Cavani’s movement has been a joy to watch since arriving in Manchester and his finishing has been absolutely clinical. According to WhoScored.com, Cavani possesses the best conversion rate of any player to have taken over 25 shots in the league this campaign.

Best Conversion rate in the 2020/21 Premier League Season (25+ shots)

• 29.4% - Edinson Cavani
• 29% - Gareth Bale
• 28.9% - Alexandre Lacazette
• 25% - Son Heung-min 
• 24.5% - Callum Wilson
• 24.1% - Ilkay Gundogan 
• 21.4% - Jesse Lingard

There’s no denying that having the experienced striker around the Manchester United camp for another season will be beneficial to both the team and to the other individuals who are learning from him day-in day-out at training.

With 14/1 on offer for Cavani to score a headed goal, we’ll also be recommending this selection for the Europa League final. With it landing in four of the striker’s last 10 appearances we think it’s certainly got more chance than the 14/1 implies at just 6.7%.

To summarise, that’s two recommended bets in total: Cavani to have 1+ headed shot on target priced at 9/2 and to score a header at 14/1. Both bets are available with Betfair and Paddy Power and if you are having a punt on the game, please do so in a responsible manner.