Villarreal will be bidding to make it four straight wins in all competitions when they continue their La Liga campaign away to Sevilla on Sunday night.
Both of these sides have underperformed in Spain's top flight during the 2023-24 campaign, with Villarreal in 12th position in the table, while Sevilla are down in 15th.
Match preview
Sevilla's winless run in all competitions stretched to five matches on Tuesday, when they suffered a 3-2 home defeat to Dutch outfit PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.
Diego Alonso's side are bottom of Group B, picking up just two points from five matches, and they can now no longer qualify for the knockout round of the competition, with a disappointing campaign seeing them draw two and lose three of their five games to date.
Sevilla can still finish third and claim a spot in the Europa League, though, needing to beat Lens on matchday six for that to occur, and they simply cannot be overlooked in that competition due to their incredible success, lifting the UEFA Cup/Europa League a record seven times.
Los Nervionenses finished in 12th spot in La Liga last season, and they have again struggled domestically this term, picking up just 12 points from 13 matches, which has left them down in 15th position.
Sevilla have not won in La Liga since beating Almeria 5-1 at the end of September, while they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Real Sociedad last weekend, with the loss ending a run of five straight league draws.
Villarreal have also been in European action this week, recording a 3-2 victory over Panathinaikos in the Europa League on Thursday evening, with the result leaving them second in Group F, three points behind leaders Rennes, crucially with a game in hand.
The Yellow Submarine have won their last three games in all competitions, including a 2-1 success over Zamora in the Copa del Rey, while they beat Osasuna 3-1 in the league last weekend.
Marcelino returned as Villarreal head coach on November 13, and he has won all three of his games at the helm, with the 58-year-old already making a big impression at the club that he previously managed between 2013 and 2016.
El Submarino Amarillo have found it difficult to get going in the league this season, with a total of 15 points from 14 matches leaving them down in 12th position in the table.
Villarreal would have been expecting to finish in the top six this term, but they are already 10 points off sixth-placed Real Sociedad, meaning that they might need to win the Europa League in order to secure European football for next season unless their league form drastically improves.
Team News
Sevilla will be without the services of both Jesus Navas and Sergio Ramos for this weekend's match through suspension, with the pair sent off in the 2-1 loss to Real Sociedad in the league last time out.
Meanwhile, Loic Bade, Suso, Erik Lamela, Marcao and Alfonso Pastor are currently on the sidelines for Alonso's team due to injury problems.
Sevilla will be hopeful that Youssef En-Nesyri can overcome the issue that forced him off against PSV last time out, while there are expected to be spots in the side for the likes of Juanlu Sanchez and Tanguy Nianzou.
As for Villarreal, Yeremi Pino is out for the season with a serious knee injury, while Alexander Sorloth, Denis Suarez and Francis Coquelin are also on the treatment table.
Jose Luis Morales scored a hat-trick against Osasuna in the league last weekend and then netted again against Olympiacos, so his spot in the final third of the field is secure.
Gerard Moreno is expected to receive a recall, having been named on the bench for the team's last European match, while Adria Alti and Etienne Capoue are also expected to return to the first XI.
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Dmitrovic; Juanlu, Gudelj, Nianzou, Pedrosa; Soumare, Fernando; Lukebakio, Rakitic, Ocampos; En-Nesyri
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Jorgensen; Foyth, Albiol, Cuenca, Pedraza; Alti, Parejo, Capoue, Baena; G Moreno, Morales
We say: Sevilla 1-1 Villarreal
This is a really difficult match to call, especially as both sides will enter it off the back of European assignments. Neither team have particularly impressed in the league this season, and with both missing some important players, we can see the points being shared in a low-scoring draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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