Villarreal will be bidding to make it five La Liga wins in a row when they resume their campaign at home to a wounded Atletico Madrid on Monday night.
The Yellow Submarine entered the international break off the back of a 1-0 victory over Valencia, while Atletico suffered a 3-0 home defeat to Barcelona last time out.
Match preview
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Villarreal struggled for consistency in the first half of the 2023-24 campaign, but their form in Spain's top flight since the turn of the year has been impressive, and the home side will bring a nine-game unbeaten run in La Liga into this contest.
Marcelino's side have been victorious in their last four league games against Real Sociedad, Granada, Real Betis and Valencia, and they have risen into ninth spot in the table, boasting 38 points from 29 matches.
The Yellow Submarine are now eight points off sixth-placed Real Sociedad in the race to secure European action, and it would be some achievement for them to claim European football for next season considering that they were in the bottom half of the division not too long ago.
Villarreal were knocked out of the Europa League by Marseille in the round of 16, so their focus is only on La Liga for the rest of the season, with their next two games against Atletico and Athletic Bilbao.
Marcelino's team only boast the 14th-best home record in La Liga this season, picking up just 19 points from 15 matches, but Atletico have struggled on their travels, suffering seven defeats from 14 games.
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Atletico, meanwhile, lost 3-0 at home to Barcelona before the international break, with the disappointing result leaving them fifth in the table, one point behind fourth-placed Athletic.
Diego Simeone's side are in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, with Borussia Dortmund their opponents over two legs, and the first leg will take place at Wanda Metropolitano on April 10.
The Red and Whites have actually now lost their last two league games, though, also going down 2-0 at struggling Cadiz on March 9, and they now face two tough fixtures against Villarreal and Girona.
Atletico will be desperate to enter their first game with Dortmund off the back of a positive result on Monday, but they have been beaten in four of their last five away fixtures in all competitions and have not been victorious on their travels since a 1-0 success over Granada on January 22.
The capital side recorded a 3-1 win over Villarreal in the reverse match earlier this season, but the points were shared in a 2-2 draw when the two teams locked horns in the corresponding game last term.
Team News
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Villarreal will be without the services of Denis Suarez, Yeremy Pino, Juan Foyth, Ramon Terrats and Pepe Reina through injury on Monday, while Eric Bailly, Raul Albiol and Alfonso Pedraza are doubts.
The Yellow Submarine will also have to work around the absences of both Alberto Moreno and Kiko Femenia, as the two full-backs are suspended.
Head coach Marcelino could make three changes from the side that started against Valencia before the international break, with Dani Parejo, Carlos Romero and Gerard Moreno potentially being introduced into the XI.
As for Atletico, Mario Hermoso and Jose Gimenez remain major doubts for the contest, while Thomas Lemar is still on the sidelines recovering from a long-term Achilles issue.
The visitors also have two players suspended for Monday's contest, with Nahuel Molina sent off against Barcelona last time out, while Rodrigo De Paul picked up a milestone yellow card.
Antoine Griezmann should be fit to start despite concerns over a recent ankle issue, while Koke is also set to come back into the side, having started on the bench against Barcelona.
Saul Niguez could also be introduced into the side, with Rodrigo Riquelme likely to drop down to the bench.
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Jorgensen; Romero, Mosquera, Mandi, Cuenca; Traore, Comesana, Parejo, Baena; G Moreno, Sorloth
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Savic, Witsel, Reinildo; Llorente, Koke, Barrios, Saul, Lino; Griezmann, Morata
We say: Villarreal 1-1 Atletico Madrid
Villarreal are flying at the moment, and we are finding it difficult to predict the hosts to lose here, especially considering Atletico's away struggles. The Red and Whites will be determined to avoid a third straight league defeat, meanwhile, and we can see the points being shared in a low-scoring draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
