Sevilla will be bidding to continue their excellent run of form when they head to Estadio de la Ceramica on Saturday afternoon to take on Villarreal.
The visitors are 12th in the table, picking up 41 points from their 34 league matches this season, while Villarreal occupy ninth, four points above their opponents in this weekend's contest.
Match preview
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Villarreal's hopes of making a late push into Europe suffered a setback last weekend when they were beaten 3-2 by relegation-threatened Celta Vigo, with the result leaving them ninth in the table on 45 points.
Marcelino's side are now seven points behind seventh-placed Real Betis with just four games left, so it is going to be difficult to secure European football for next season, and there is no getting away from the fact that 2023-24 has been a disappointing campaign for the club.
The Yellow Submarine claimed fifth in La Liga last term and have only finished lower than seventh on one occasion in their last 10 top-flight campaigns.
A top-half spot is on the cards, but a European spot is likely to be beyond them, especially as their fixture list is tough, with Girona and Real Madrid their opponents after this one, before finishing the 2023-24 campaign away to Osasuna on May 25.
Villarreal have struggled at home this season, only picking up 22 points from their 17 matches in front of their own fans, while Sevilla have gathered 18 points from their 17 games on their travels this term.
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Sevilla have also underachieved again this season, with Quique Sanchez Flores's side sitting down in 12th position in the table, 11 points behind seventh-placed Real Betis and some 26 points off the top four.
Los Nervionenses finished 12th in Spain's top flight last term, which proved to be their worst final placing in La Liga since being relegated at the end of the 1999-2000 campaign.
Sevilla are also set to miss out on Europe, but their recent form has been impressive, winning four of their last five league matches, remaining unbeaten in the process.
The Europa League holders will enter this match off the back of a 3-0 victory over Granada, and they are now just four points behind ninth-placed Villarreal, with a top-half spot within reach.
Sevilla are actually unbeaten in their last five La Liga games against Villarreal, but three of their last four meetings at this level of football have finished all square, including a 1-1 earlier this season.
Team News
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Villarreal are again likely to be missing five players through injury on Saturday, with Gerard Moreno, Bertrand Traore, Juan Foyth, Denis Suarez and Yeremy Pino all on the sidelines.
The Yellow Submarine will also have to work around the absence of Santi Comesana, who was sent off in the 17th minute of the defeat to Celta last time out.
Francis Coquelin is expected to be the player to benefit from Comesana's suspension, but it is otherwise likely to be the same side that took to the field for the first whistle last time out, with Goncalo Guedes set to feature alongside Alexander Sorloth in the final third of the field.
As for Sevilla, the injuries are piling up again, with Kike Salas, Erik Lamela, Isaac Romero, Oliver Torres, Nemanja Gudelj, Adria Pedrosa and Djibril Sow all out of this weekend's match.
Loic Bade, meanwhile, is suspended due to the milestone booking that he picked up against Granada, but Suso will return to the squad after serving a ban last time out.
The team's defensive problems could mean that Marcao and Tanguy Nianzou both start, and there is also expected to be a role in a wide area for Dodi Lukebakio, who netted off the bench last time out.
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Jorgensen; Femenia, Albiol, Mosquera, A Moreno; Akhomach, Coquelin, Parejo, Baena; Guedes, Sorloth
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Nyland; Nianzou, Ramos, Marcao; Navas, Soumare, Agoume, Acuna; Ocampos, En-Nesyri, Lukebakio
We say: Villarreal 1-1 Sevilla
As mentioned, three of the last four meetings between these two sides in Spain's top flight have finished all square, and we are expecting another draw here. There is not an awful lot between the teams when it comes to quality, and neither would be too disappointed with a share of the spoils on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
