Seeking to maintain their perfect record in Group C of the Europa Conference League, managerless Villarreal play host to Hapoel Be'er Sheva in Valencia on Thursday night.
With Villarreal's Estadio de la Ceramica under renovation, the Yellow Submarine are having to play around 40 miles away from their home ground at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia, the home of fellow La Liga side Levante.
Match preview
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After two years and three months in charge of Villarreal, Unai Emery has decided to call time on his spell with the Spanish side and has made the switch to Aston Villa to succeed Steven Gerrard.
The Yellow Submarine bid farewell to the 50-year-old, who steered the club to Europa League glory in 2020-21, the club's first and only major trophy in their 99-year history.
With director of football Miguel Angel Tena placed in temporary charge for the time being, former Barcelona boss Quique Setien is believed to be in talks with Villarreal's hierarchy about replacing Emery, who has left the club seventh in La Liga and top of their Europa Conference League group.
Villarreal are in fact one of only two teams in this season's competition, along with West Ham United, who have a 100% record in the group stage after four matches, including a 2-1 win away from home against Thursday's opponents Hapeol Be'er Sheva.
The Yellow Submarine, who won 2-1 against Almeria in Emery's final game in charge last weekend, have already qualified for the knockout rounds and have also secured top spot in Group C with two games to spare, but they will be keen to continue their good run of form with another three points on Thursday.
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Hapoel Be'er Sheva, meanwhile, have also put together a strong run of form heading into Thursday's contest as they are unbeaten in each of their last seven matches across all competitions.
A four-game drawing streak was ended when they secured a 4-1 away victory in the Israeli Premier League against Hapeol Jerusalem last weekend, a result which has seen them move up to third in the table and to within five points of leaders Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
Elyaniv Barda, who was handed his first managerial role by Be'er Sheva in June, is yet to guide his side to victory in this season's Europa Conference League, but they still have a good chance of joining Villarreal in the knockout rounds.
Be'er Sheva have picked up three points from their first four matches and they currently sit third in Group C, two points behind second-placed Lech Poznan with whom they drew twice against in home and away fixtures earlier this month.
The Israeli outfit have struggled for form away from home in European competition, failing to win any of their last 10 group-stage matches on the road. Be'er Sheva will be looking to become just the second Israeli team after Maccabi Tel-Aviv in December 2017 to beat Villarreal when they lock horns on Thursday.
Team News
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Villarreal's Alfonso Pedraza is set to miss out with a hamstring injury, while Gerard Moreno (hamstring), Etienne Capoue (muscle) and Juan Foyth (knee) are all doubtful and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
Alex Baena and Manu Morlanes are both available for selection despite receiving red cards against Almeria last weekend – the former was controversially shown a second yellow card for lifting his shirt to display a tribute message to vice-president Jose Manuel Llaneza, who passed away last week, while the latter was dismissed after protesting the decision on the substitutes' bench.
The likes of Arnaut Danjuma, Manu Trigueros, Giovani Lo Celso and Yeremi Pino, who all began as substitutes last weekend, could return to the starting lineup on Thursday.
As for Hapeol Be'er Sheva, Or Dadia and Eitan Tibi are both ruled out with hamstring injuries, while Mariano Bareiro is sidelined with a knee problem.
Rotem Hatuel, who is the club's top scorer so far this season with 10 strikes in 19 games, found the net in the 2-1 defeat at home to Villarreal last month, and he is expected to start in attack on Thursday alongside Tomer Hemed and Shapi Suleymanov.
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Femenia, Albiol, Torres, Mojica; Coquelin, Trigueros; Pino, Parajo, Lo Celso; Danjuma
Hapoel Be'er Sheva possible starting lineup:
Glazer; Abaid, Vitor, Abd Elhamed, Lopes; Elias, Shamir, Micha; Hatuel, Hemed, Suleymanov
We say: Villarreal 3-1 Hapoel Be'er Sheva
With Villarreal already through to the knockout rounds as group winners, the pressure is on Hapoel Be'er Sheva as they seek to claim their first three points in Group C and keep their hopes of progression alive.
The Yellow Submarine were tested by their Israeli counterparts in the reverse fixture but they managed to hold on for a victory, and we can see the Spanish side coming away with maximum points once again on Thursday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
