Villarreal will be bidding to continue their impressive run of form in Spain's top flight when they welcome Espanyol to Estadio de la Ceramica on Sunday afternoon.
The Yellow Submarine, who are sixth in the table, recorded a 4-1 win over Granada last weekend, while Espanyol held title-challenging Sevilla to a 1-1 draw, which has left them in 14th.
Match preview
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Villarreal were in Champions League action during the week, playing out a 1-1 draw with Juventus in the first leg of their last-16 affair; Dusan Vlahovic sent the Old Lady ahead inside the first minute, but Dani Parejo was on the scoresheet for the Spanish outfit in the 66th minute.
Unai Emery's side should be full of confidence at the moment, losing just once in Spain's top flight since the start of December, while they have picked up 10 points from their last four matches, beating Mallorca, Real Betis and Granada, in addition to sharing the points with Real Madrid.
Last weekend, Villarreal were 4-1 winners at Granada, with Arnaut Danjuma scoring three times in a brilliant performance, and the result has left the Yellow Submarine in sixth spot in the table.
Emery's team are only one point clear of seventh-placed Real Sociedad but sit just three points behind fourth-placed Barcelona and are certainly not out of the picture when it comes to a possible top-four finish.
Villarreal's home form this season has also been impressive, picking up 25 points from their 13 matches, which is the fourth-best record in the division, and they will be taking on an Espanyol outfit that have won just once on their travels in Spain's top flight this term, collecting seven points from 12 matches.
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Espanyol, meanwhile, have picked up positive results in their last two matches, holding Barcelona to a 2-2 draw in the Barcelona derby before playing out a 1-1 with Sevilla last weekend.
Vicente Moreno's side are without a victory in Spain's top flight since the end of December, though, and the winless run has seen them drop into 14th position in the table, nine points clear of the bottom three.
The White and Blues secured a return to the top flight by winning last season's Segunda Division, and they will be bidding to consolidate at this level once again following their surprise relegation.
It would be a huge surprise if they were pulled into any trouble in the final weeks of the campaign, but Moreno will be desperate to put a victory on the board as soon as possible; they have some winnable games to come as well, taking on Getafe, Levante and Mallorca in their next three.
Espanyol actually beat Villarreal in the corresponding match during the 2019-20 La Liga season, while they have lost just one of their last seven top-flight games against the Yellow Submarine, so the visitors should enter this match in good confidence despite the form of their opponents.
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Team News
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Villarreal will be without the services of Francis Coquelin, Ruben Pena and Gerard Moreno on Sunday through injury, while Paco Alcacer has emerged as a doubt in the build-up to the contest.
Raul Albiol is back from a league suspension and should start, while there could be a spot in the final third of the field for Boulaye Dia, with Danjuma and Samuel Chukwueze playing in the wide areas.
Giovani Lo Celso played in an advanced area against Juventus but could drop back into midfield here, while Parejo and Etienne Capoue are certain starters for the Yellow Submarine.
Espanyol will be the fresher of the two sides, having not been in action since the 1-1 draw with Sevilla last weekend, but the hosts will be without at least two players.
Aleix Vidal is unavailable due to a suspension, while Manu Morlanes is out with a groin problem, but Nicolas Melemed is back from a ban of his own.
There are not expected to be many surprises in the away side's starting XI here, with leading goalscorer Raul de Tomas set to lead the line with support from Javi Puado and Tonny Vilhena.
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Foyth, Albiol, Torres, Pedraza; Parejo, Lo Celso, Capoue; Chukwueze, Dia, Danjuma
Espanyol possible starting lineup:
D Lopez; Gil, Gomez, Cabrera, Pedrosa; Darder, Herrera, Bare; Vilhena, De Tomas, Puado
We say: Villarreal 2-1 Espanyol
Villarreal's confidence will have grown with their performance against Juventus during the week, and the home side are the strong favourites to pick up three points here. Espanyol have held Barcelona and Sevilla in their last two home games, but we are expecting them to lose this match 2-1.
Top tip
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Villarreal win with a probability of 57.7%. A draw had a probability of 22.7% and a win for Espanyol had a probability of 19.56%.
The most likely scoreline for a Villarreal win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.22%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.25%) and 2-1 (9.87%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.8%), while for a Espanyol win it was 0-1 (5.91%). The actual scoreline of 5-1 was predicted with a 1% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Villarreal would win this match.
