Villarreal will be looking to make it back-to-back wins in Spain's top flight when they continue their 2021-22 La Liga campaign at home to an in-form Osasuna on Sunday night.
The Yellow Submarine are currently 11th in the table, having picked up 11 points from seven matches this season, while Osasuna are up in fifth, collecting 14 points from their opening eight fixtures.
Match preview
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Villarreal are La Liga's only unbeaten side this season, but the Yellow Submarine have been the draw specialists, sharing the points in five of their seven fixtures, winning the other two, which has seen them collect 11 points to occupy 11th position in the table heading into the next set of matches.
Unai Emery's side also have the joint-best defensive record in the league this season with just three goals conceded, but they have only scored eight times down the other end, which will be slightly concerning at this stage of the campaign.
Villarreal recorded a 2-0 win over Real Betis before the international break, though, with Arnaut Danjuma scoring twice in a strong performance to make it four league goals for the campaign.
The Yellow Submarine are also competing in the group stage of this season's Champions League due to their Europa League success last term, but they are bottom of Group F, having picked up just one point from their two games against Atalanta BC and Manchester United.
Villarreal have won two of their last three league meetings against Osasuna, but they suffered a 2-1 home defeat in the corresponding match between the two teams last term.
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Osasuna, meanwhile, have made an excellent start to the 2021-22 La Liga season, winning four, drawing two and losing two of their eight matches to collect 14 points, which has left them fifth in the table.
Los Rojillos are only three points off the top of the division, while they have won three of their last four in the league, overcoming Alaves, Mallorca and Rayo Vallecano during a strong run of form.
Osasuna appeared to be heading for a goalless draw against Rayo before the international break, only for Manu Sanchez to come up with a 91st-minute winner for the home side at Estadio El Sadar.
Jagoba Arrasate's side have finished 10th and 11th in their last two La Liga seasons after returning to this level in 2019, and the early indications are that they will again have no relegation fears.
The Reds will take confidence from the fact that they beat Villarreal when the two teams last locked horns, while Arrasate's team have won their three away league fixtures this term against Cadiz, Alaves and Mallorca.
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Team News
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Villarreal are sweating on the fitness of Boulaye Dia, Samuel Chukwueze, Gerard Moreno, Paco Alcacer and Raul Albiol heading into Sunday's clash with Osasuna.
Yeremi Pino will lead the line if Gerard Moreno is unable to prove his fitness, while Danjuma is a certain starter for the home side, who could select a five-man midfield.
Francis Coquelin is expected to shake off a minor issue to feature alongside Dani Parejo and Etienne Capoue in midfield, while Pervis Estupinan is likely to get the nod over Alberto Moreno at left-back.
Osasuna will be without the services of Jonas Ramalho this weekend through injury, while Aridane Hernandez, Kike Barja and Ante Budimir will face late fitness tests for the home side.
Head coach Arrasate is expected to select the same front three that started against Rayo before the international break, with Ruben Garcia joining Kike and Roberto Torres in attack.
Hernandez will return at the back if he proves his fitness, but it should also be an unchanged midfield three, with Lucas Torro joining Darko Brasanac and Jon Moncayola.
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Foyth, Mandi, Torres, Estupinan; Trigueros, Parejo, Capoue, Coquelin, Danjuma; Pino
Osasuna possible starting lineup:
Herrera; Vidal, Hernandez, D Garcia, Sanchez; Moncayola, Torro, Brasanac; Torres, Kike, R Garcia
We say: Villarreal 1-1 Osasuna
Osasuna's form in the early stages of the season has been excellent, while Villarreal have found it difficult to get over the line in terms of wins despite some impressive performances. We are expecting this to be a very close match and have had to settle on a low-scoring draw taking everything into consideration.
Top tip
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 51.11%. A draw had a probability of 24.8% and a win for Osasuna had a probability of 24.12%.
The most likely scoreline for a Villarreal win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.41%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.55%) and 2-0 (9.26%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.78%), while for a Osasuna win it was 0-1 (7.27%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 6.1% likelihood.
