Preview: Villarreal vs Alaves - prediction, team news, lineups

Villarreal will be aiming to make it back-to-back wins at the start of 2026 when they continue their La Liga campaign at home to Alaves on Saturday afternoon.

The Yellow Submarine are currently third in the La Liga table, level on points with fourth-placed Atletico Madrid, while Alaves are 13th, boasting 19 points from their opening 18 matches of the 2025-26 campaign.

Match preview

Villarreal saw a six-game winning run in La Liga come to an end in their final match of 2025, suffering a 2-0 home defeat to Barcelona, but they managed to bounce back away to Elche last time out, recording a 3-1 victory.

It has been an excellent league campaign for Villarreal to date, with a record of 12 wins, two draws and three defeats from 17 matches leaving them third in the table on 38 points, and they have two games in hand on Atletico in fourth, in addition to second-placed Real Madrid and division leaders Barcelona.

Marcelino's side are 11 points off the summit, with a title challenge this term incredibly unlikely, even taking into account their two games in hand, but the team are in an excellent position to challenge for a top-four position in the table.

El Submarino Amarillo, who finished fifth in La Liga last season, are struggling in the cup competitions, though, having also been knocked out of the Copa del Rey, while they are down in 35th spot in the overall Champions League table.

Villarreal have the third-best home record in Spain's top flight this season, picking up 22 points from nine matches, while Alaves have just one win from eight away matches.

Alaves actually lead the overall head-to-head against Villarreal, having recorded 16 wins to 13, while there have only been three draws in their previous 32 meetings.

The corresponding match last season ended in a 3-0 win for Villarreal, but Alaves recorded a 1-0 victory when the pair met in the reverse match last March.

The Blue and Whites, who finished 15th in La Liga last season, will enter this match off the back of a 1-1 draw with basement side Real Oviedo, and it is now over a month since Eduardo Coudet's side were victorious in the league.

El Glorioso have a record of five wins, four draws and nine defeats from their 18 matches this term, with 19 points leaving them in 13th spot in the table, only three points outside of the relegation zone, which is occupied by Valencia, Levante and Real Oviedo.

Alaves have only managed to score 14 times in La Liga this season, which is the joint-second worst attacking record, and they will be taking on a Villarreal team that have the joint-best defensive record (16 conceded) alongside Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

Villarreal La Liga form:

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Villarreal form (all competitions):

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Alaves La Liga form:

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Alaves form (all competitions):

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Team News

Villarreal will be without the services of Logan Costa and Pau Cabanes through injury on Saturday, while Willy Kambwala remains a major doubt.

The Yellow Submarine are also missing Ilias Akhomach and Pape Gueye due to their involvement in the Africa Cup of Nations.

However, Renato Veiga and Tajon Buchanan will be available again after serving suspensions last time out, and the former will return to the back four.

As for Alaves, Carlos Protesoni is suspended due to the red card that he was issued in the latter stages of the team's 1-1 draw with Real Oviedo last time out, while Facundo Garces is a long-term absentee through suspension.

However, Victor Parada will be back in the squad after serving a ban.

Carlos Vicente has scored eight times in 21 appearances for the Basque outfit this term, and the 26-year-old will again feature in the final third of the field.

Villarreal possible starting lineup:

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

Alaves possible starting lineup:

Sivera; Jonny, Tenaglia, Pacheco, Parada; Ibanez, Blanco; Vicente, Alena, Rebbach; Boye

We say: Villarreal 2-0 Alaves

Villarreal's home form has been excellent this season, while Alaves have struggled on their travels. As a result, we are finding it difficult to predict anything other than a routine success for the Yellow Submarine.