Quique Setien will continue the search for his first win as Villarreal head coach as they take on a strong Mallorca side at the Ciutat de Valencia this Sunday.
The hosts suffered a dire 3-0 defeat to Lech Poznan in the Conference League on Thursday, while the visitors will be ruing missed opportunities from their 1-1 draw with Espanyol last weekend.
Match preview
© Reuters
It has been an extremely tough few weeks for Villarreal, after the passing of their influential Vice President Jose Manuel Llaneza, along with the sudden departure of Unai Emery, saw the club's internal structure completely uprooted in the space of three days.
With tricky trips to Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao stuck either side of the devastating news, the club from Castellon have suffered on the pitch too, losing ground in the race for the top four with two important defeats on the road in LaLiga.
Former Barcelona and Real Betis coach Quique Setien has instantly looked to employ his possession-based, pass-heavy style on his talented new squad, but he has struggled for results since his appointment.
The Yellow Submarine strung together 665 passes on Thursday, the most that Villarreal have completed in a game for over two years, but were still on the receiving end of a 3-0 battering from their Polish opponents.
Setien will be hoping for more incision from his side this Sunday, as they look to turn possession into goalscoring opportunities to get their LaLiga campaign back up and running after a turbulent period in the club's history.
© Reuters
Mallorca, on the other hand, will be wondering how they did not come away from their last LaLiga encounter with all three points, as they conceded a late equaliser to Espanyol last week.
In a game that Javier Aguirre's side controlled, it was only a mishit cross from Jose Carlos Lazo after 70 minutes that flew over the head of Predrag Rajkovic and into the back of the net.
The island side can perhaps count themselves unfortunate not to be sitting higher in the early standings, after they outperformed Barcelona, Elche and Sevilla by a combined 5.04 to 1.17 expected goal last month, while picking up just a singular point from those three contests.
Kosovan forward Vedat Muriqi has seven goals in his last eight games for club and country, while South Korean starlet Kang-in Lee continues to impress alongside the dangerous target man up front.
With Villarreal not in great form, and Mallorca not afraid to take the game to some of the bigger clubs in the division, there is every chance that Aguirre's men could find some joy at their hosts' temporary home.
Team News
© Reuters
The hosts will continue without long-term absentee Gerard Moreno here, as he continues his recovery from a hamstring issue.
Alongside the club's talisman, both Alfonso Pedraza and Giovani Lo Celso also remain sidelined with hamstring problems, while Raul Albiol is reportedly suffering from muscle discomfort.
Mallorca do not have any fresh injury concerns, but will still be unable to call upon striker Tino Kadewere, who is yet to feature for the island side since his loan move from Lyon in the summer.
Influential full-back Pablo Maffeo and centre-back Antonio Raillo will both miss out due to suspension.
Left-back Jaume Costa should start, however, on his return to the club where he made 268 first-team appearances over ten successful years.
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Moreno, Torres, Mandi, Femenia; Parejo, Capoue, Trigueros; Baena, Danjuma, Pino
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Costa, Copete, Valjent, Nastasic, Gonzalez; Lee, De Galarreta, Babu, Rodriguez; Muriqi
We say: Villarreal 1-1 Mallorca
After a tough recent run, Mallorca are probably not the side that Villarreal would have chosen to play right now, given the problems that they have caused other big teams along the way this season.
We are expecting a tight game, with Villarreal dominating possession, but Mallorca landing a sucker punch to frustrate the Yellow Submarine once again.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
