3 Villarreal vs 2 Sevilla
Villarreal hoping to move temporarily into eighth place as Sevilla visits.
In a captivating clash at Estadio de la Cerámica, Villarreal hosts Sevilla, aiming to climb to eighth place in La Liga after a turbulent draw against Celta, while Sevilla looks to narrow the gap with their hosts on Saturday afternoon.
Villarreal
Villarreal failed to extend their winning streak to three games in a row after a 3-2 loss to relegation-threatened Celta Vigo put an abrupt end to their three-game unbeaten run [LDWWL]. The topsy-turvy clash, which swung one way and then another, saw Villarreal reduced to ten men inside twenty minutes after Santi Comesaña [R. 17’] was sent off.
The defeat leaves the Yellow Submarine sitting in 9th place with 45 points [12W, 9D, & 13L] as they head into the weekend’s game with Sevilla. They will be hoping to leapfrog 8th-placed Valencia [47 points], who take on Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, temporarily.
Villarreal, who have a goal ratio of 1.65 [GPG] this season, having scored 56 goals in 34 La Liga games, have not lost any of their last five home games against Sevilla in the competition [2W, 3D, 0L]. This weekend can see them equal their best unbeaten run at home against the visitors in the competition, where they went on a six-game unbeaten run against Sevilla between 2002 and 2007 [2W, 4D, 0L].
Marcelino will have no reason to change the 4—4—2 seen last weekend, despite the 3-2 loss against the Sky Blues. Gonçalo Guedes and Alexander Sørloth will be in attack once again, while Comesaña is suspended for one game.
Sevilla
Sevilla climbed into 12th place after last weekend’s comfortable 3-0 win over Granada. Goals from Marcos Acuña (11’), Youssef En-Nesyri (51’), and Dodi Lukebakio (80’), who came off the bench, paved the way for the easy win at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.
The win gave Sevilla 41 points (10W, 11D, 13L), placing them just two points outside the top ten with four games to go. Since matchday 30, only Real Madrid (15 points) have taken more points in the competition than Sevilla (13 points: 4W, 1D, 0L).
With four points between the hosts and the visitors, a win for Los Palanganas will bring them within a point of each other. A 3-4-2-1 formation with Youssef En-Nesyri in attack is expected against Villarreal. The Moroccan is the club’s top scorer this season with 13 goals.
Coupled with two assists, En-Nesyri has made a 33% contribution to Sevilla’s haul of 45 goals this season. Meanwhile, Quique Sánchez Flores will be without right-back Loïc Badé, who is suspended for Saturday’s clash after picking up an additional booking last time out.
Team form
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Team Comparison
Side-by-side assessment of team statistics, including goals, attacks, and more. This allows you to directly compare key performance metrics. Analyzing these stats can reveal patterns and strengths that might influence the outcome.