Villarreal will be bidding to make it back-to-back wins in La Liga for the first time this season when they welcome relegation-threatened Granada to Estadio de la Ceramica on Sunday afternoon.
The Yellow Submarine will enter the contest off the back of a 3-1 victory at Real Sociedad, while Granada drew 1-1 with basement side Almeria last time out.
Match preview
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Villarreal have been underwhelming in La Liga this season, only picking up 29 points from their 26 matches, which has left them in 13th position in the table, 13 points off sixth-placed Real Betis.
The Yellow Submarine are 23 points off the top four, meanwhile, but they can still qualify for next season's Champions League by winning the Europa League, with the team in the last-16 stage of the competition.
Marcelino's side will take on Marseille over two legs in the European tournament, with the first leg due to take place in France next week, but their immediate focus is on the league, and they will bring a six-game unbeaten run in Spain's top flight into the clash with Granada.
Villarreal have won two and drawn four of their last six in La Liga, with their two victories during that run coming away from home, beating Barcelona 5-3 and Real Sociedad 3-1, but they have drawn their last three league games at home against Mallorca, Cadiz and Getafe.
The Yellow Submarine are unbeaten against Granada in La Liga since March 2014, and they recorded a 3-2 victory when the two teams locked horns for the reverse match earlier this season.
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Granada, meanwhile, had to come from behind to draw with 20th-placed Almeria last time out, with Myrto Uzuni cancelling out an opener from Marc Pubill in the battle between the bottom two in La Liga.
Alexander Medina's side have drawn their last three league matches with Las Palmas, Barcelona and Almeria, with their last victory proving to be a 2-0 success over Cadiz in their first game of 2024.
The Andalusian outfit have won two, drawn eight and lost 15 of their 25 league matches this season to collect 14 points, which has left them in 19th position in the table, seven points behind 17th-placed Celta Vigo.
Granada have picked up 12 of their 14 points at home this season, with their away record particularly disappointing, drawing two and losing 10 of their 12 games on their travels.
Grana secured a return to this level by winning the 2022-23 Segunda Division title, but they are facing the strong possibility of dropping back down into the second tier for the 2024-25 campaign.
Team News
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Villarreal will be missing Yeremy Pino, Denis Suarez, Juan Foyth, Ramon Terrats and Alfonso Pedraza for this weekend's match due to injury, while Jorge Cuenca is suspended following his yellow card against Real Sociedad.
Head coach Marcelino could select the same XI that took to the field for the first whistle against Real Sociedad last time out, with Goncalo Guedes joining Gerard Moreno in the final third.
Santi Comesana scored twice last time out and will continue in central midfield, with the likes of Dani Parejo, Etienne Capoue and Alexander Sorloth likely to have to accept substitute roles again.
As for Granada, Bruno Mendez, Jesus Vallejo and Raul Fernandez remain unavailable for selection due to injury.
The strugglers will also be unable to call upon Gerard Gumbau, as the midfielder is suspended due to the milestone yellow card that he picked up in the draw with Almeria last time out.
Gonzalo Villar is also a doubt with the problem that forced him off early against Almeria, but Ignasi Miquel is available again after serving a suspension and should return to the back four.
Lucas Boye could also be brought into the attack alongside Uzuni and Facundo Pellistri.
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Jorgensen; Mosquera, Albiol, Bailly, A Moreno; Akhomach, Coquelin, Comesana, Baena; Guedes, G Moreno
Granada possible starting lineup:
Batalla; R Sanchez, Piatkowski, Miquel, Neva; Ruiz, Hongla, Melendo; Pellistri, Uzuni, Boye
We say: Villarreal 2-1 Granada
Granada are not losing matches at the moment, but their away form this season has been so disappointing, and Villarreal will enter this match full of confidence after an impressive win over Real Sociedad. It could be a tight match, but we are expecting the home side to navigate their way to all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
