Sevilla will host strugglers Villarreal in a crunch La Liga encounter on Saturday.
Venue: Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan
Key statistics
- Sevilla have won only one of their last five games at home in La Liga against Villarreal (D3 L1).
- Sevilla haven’t recorded two consecutive wins against the Yellow Submarine since 2016.
- Villarreal have won three out of their last five games against Sevilla in La Liga.
- The Andalusian club are unbeaten at home in their last eight games (W7 D1) and have scored two or more goals in their last six games.
- Sevilla are fourth in the table while Unai Emery’s side sit 12th in the rankings this season.
Head to Head record
Sevilla have won 15 out of the 34 games played against Villarreal in all competitions. The Yellow Submarine have nine victories to their name.
Latest performances in all competitions
Sevilla: W D W L W
Villarreal: W D L L W
Sevilla
Sevilla suffered a 2-1 loss against Real Madrid in La Liga last week, with Vinicius Junior clinching a superb late goal for the Spanish capital club.
Nonetheless, the Andalusian outfit are fourth in the league table this season due to their excellent home record – not suffering a defeat in their last eight games.
They would look to take advantage of it against Villarreal, who have been underperforming this season.
Julen Lopetegui’s side will look to leave behind their set-back against Real Madrid and push further up in the title race.
A win against the Yellow Submarine would also give them enough confidence for the next week’s Champions League encounter against Salzburg.
Youssef En-Nesyri and Jesus Navas will be sidelined due to injuries while Argentine playmaker Papu Gomez appears to have recovered from a minor knock.
Possible Sevilla line-up:
Yassine Bounou; Marcos Acuna, Diego Carlos, Jules Kounde, Gonzalo Montiel; Fernando, Joan Jordan; Lucas Ocampos, Ivan Rakitic, Alejandro Gomez; Rafa Mir
Injured: Youssef En-Nesyri, Jesus Navas
Doubtful: Erik Lamela, Suso
Suspended: None
Villarreal
Like Sevilla, Villarreal slumped to a 3-1 defeat against Barcelona in their previous La Liga fixture.’
However, their overall form is underwhelming this season, as they currently sit 12th on the table.
The Europa League winners are expected to mount a title challenge this season but things haven’t panned out in their way.
Unai Emery is under immense pressure to turn things around quickly however the odds are against them when they face fourth-placed Sevilla on Saturday.
The Yellow Submarine are desperate for a win as it would be vital for next week’s make or break encounter against Atalanta in the Champions League.
Emery has a fully-fit squad at his disposal ahead of the weekend’s away game against Sevilla.
Possible Villarreal line-up
Geronimo Rulli; Alfonso Pedraza, Pau Torres, Raul Albiol, Juan Foyth; Etienne Capoue, Manu Trigueros, Dani Parejo; Arnaut Danjuma, Yeremi Pino, Gerard Moreno
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Prediction
Sevilla 1 – 0 Villarreal
