Preview: Real Betis vs Villarreal - prediction, team news, lineups

Villarreal's pursuit of La Liga leaders Barcelona will continue on Saturday evening, when the Yellow Submarine head to Seville to tackle Real Betis.

Marcelino's side are third in the La Liga table, eight points off leaders Barca with a game in hand, while Betis occupy sixth spot in the division.

Match preview

Real Betis will enter Saturday's contest off the back of a 2-1 success over Elche in the Copa del Rey, with Manuel Pellegrini's side booking their spot in the quarter-finals of the tournament, but it has been a disappointing start to 2026 in the league.

Indeed, the Seville outfit have only managed to pick up one point from their two La Liga matches this year, losing to Real Madrid before being held by basement side Real Oviedo last time out.

Los Verdiblancos have a record of seven wins, eight draws and four defeats from their 19 La Liga matches this season, with 29 points leaving them sixth in the division, level on points with seventh-placed Celta Vigo and five behind fifth-placed Espanyol.

Real Betis have lost three times at home in La Liga this term, and they will be welcoming a Villarreal outfit that have excelled on their travels, claiming 16 points from eight matches.

The reverse match between the two sides earlier this season ended in a 2-2 draw, but Real Betis suffered a 2-1 loss when the pair met in Seville last term.

Real Betis just about lead the head-to-head record, posting 19 wins to Villarreal's 18, while there have also been 12 draws in their previous 49 meetings in all competitions.

Villarreal's last three wins over Real Betis have actually come on their travels, and the Yellow Submarine will be the fresher of the two teams entering this match, having not been in action since beating Alaves 3-1 in La Liga last weekend.

Marcelino's side have been excellent in Spain's top flight this term, boasting a record of 13 wins, two draws and three defeats from 18 matches to collect 41 points.

Villarreal are four points behind second-placed Real Madrid and eight from the leaders Barcelona, while they have a game in hand on both of those sides.

The Yellow Submarine are in a title race at this stage of the season, but their Champions League challenge has been a huge disappointment, currently sitting down in 35th spot in the overall table, picking up just one point from six games.

Real Betis La Liga form:

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Real Betis form (all competitions):

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Villarreal La Liga form:

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Villarreal form (all competitions):

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Team News

Real Betis remain without the services of experienced attacker Isco, who underwent an ankle operation at the end of December.

Abde Ezzalzouli has helped Morocco reach the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, meanwhile, and the attacker therefore remains unavailable for selection.

Checks need to be made on the fitness of Angel Ortiz, Cucho Hernandez, Junior Firpo and Hector Bellerin, with all four regarded as doubts for this weekend's fixture.

As for Villarreal, two of their players are set to be involved in Sunday's AFCON final - Senegal's Pape Gueye and Morocco's Ilias Akhomach.

Pau Cabanes, Logan Costa, Willy Kambwala and Thiago Fernandez will also miss the La Liga fixture due to injury problems.

There are not expected to be any surprises in the away side's XI for this match, with Ayoze Perez once again set to be joined in the final third of the field by Georges Mikautadze, who has scored five times and registered three assists in 13 La Liga matches this term.

Real Betis possible starting lineup:

Valles; Ruibal, Bartra, Gomez, Rodriguez; Fornals, Roca; Antony, Lo Celso, Riquelme; Bakambu

Villarreal possible starting lineup:

Luiz Junior; Mourino, Foyth, Veiga, Pedraza; Buchanan, Parejo, Comesana, Moleiro; Perez, Mikautadze

We say: Real Betis 1-2 Villarreal

This has all of the makings of a very interesting match, and we are expecting it to be tight in terms of the scoreline, but Villarreal have enough quality to navigate their way to a hugely important three points this weekend.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.