Villarreal will be bidding to reach the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey for the second year in succession when they face Segunda Division side Girona on Tuesday night.
The Yellow Submarine will enter the match off the back of a goalless draw with Huesca in La Liga on Saturday, while Girona recorded a 1-0 victory over Espanyol in the Segunda Division on the same day.
Match preview
Girona played in La Liga during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons but were relegated to the second tier for the 2019-20 campaign and finished fifth in the standings on their return.
The White and Reds have collected 33 points from their 22 matches this season to sit eighth in the table, just one point off the top six, while they beat the leaders Espanyol 1-0 on Saturday.
Francisco's side have actually only lost once in all competitions since the end of November and have been impressive in this season's Copa del Rey, beating Gimnastica Segovina and Lugo in the opening two rounds before recording a 2-0 victory over La Liga side Cadiz on January 16.
Girona have never won the Copa del Rey but reached the quarter-finals in 2018-19, impressively overcoming Atletico Madrid in the round of 16, before losing to Real Madrid.
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Villarreal, meanwhile, have also never won the Copa del Rey and were surprisingly knocked out by Mirandes in the quarter-finals of last season's competition.
The Yellow Submarine reached the semi-finals in 2014-15, losing to Barcelona, but have recently found it difficult to make an impression, being eliminated in the round of 16 in four of their last five participations.
Unai Emery's side, who have beaten Leioa, Zamora and Tenerife to advance to this stage, will enter Tuesday's contest off the back of a goalless draw with Huesca, which has left them in fifth position in La Liga.
Villarreal's participation in the Europa League means that the club have a lot of games over the next few weeks, and it will be fascinating to see how Emery balances all three competitions if his side manage to advance to the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey and potentially beyond.
These two teams also locked horns in last season's Copa del Rey, with Villarreal recording a 3-0 victory, but Girona have actually been victorious in two of their last four meetings in all competitions.
Girona Copa del Rey form: WWLWWW
Girona form (all competitions): LDWDWW
Villarreal Copa del Rey form: WWLWWW
Villarreal form (all competitions): WWWWDD
Team News
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Girona's side is likely to have a similar look to the one that started the 2-0 win over Cadiz in the last round of the Copa del Rey, when Valery scored a brace for the Segunda Division club.
Pablo Moreno scored the winner against Espanyol on Saturday but is expected to drop to the bench, while Cristhian Stuani could also be named among the substitutes to allow Nahuel Bustos to feature.
As for Villarreal, Samuel Chukwueze, Gerard Moreno, Mario Gaspar, Vicente Iborra and Alberto Moreno will all miss out for the top-flight outfit through injury.
Emery is expected to make wholesale changes from the side that started against Huesca, with Alex Baena and Dani Raba among those likely to come into the XI.
Carlos Bacca could again feature in the final third of the field, though, while Ramiro Funes Mori is also likely to retain his starting role from Saturday's clash with Huesca.
Girona possible starting lineup:
Muric; Couto, Ramalho, Espinosa, Martinez; Cristoforo, Kebe; Valery, Saiz, Barcenas; Bustos
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Costa, Foyth, Funes Mori, Estupinan; Pino, Trigueros, Coquelin, Baena; Raba, Bacca
We say: Girona 1-2 Villarreal
Girona are certainly a team to be taken seriously in this competition, and Villarreal are not expected to be at full strength in this match. The Yellow Submarine have plenty of depth in reserve, though, and we fancy the top-flight club to just shade a close encounter in the last-16 stage of the competition.
Top betting tip
Matt Law
