One of the standout matches in La Liga this weekend will take place at Estadio de la Ceramica on Sunday evening, with Villarreal welcoming Athletic Bilbao.

Both of these sides were in Copa del Rey action during the week, with Villarreal beating Chiclana 5-0 in the first round of the competition, while Athletic also advanced to round two with a 2-1 win over Rubi.

Match preview

It has not quite been the start to the campaign that Villarreal would have wanted, with the team currently in the bottom half of the La Liga table.

El Submarino Amarillo, who finished fifth in Spain's top flight last term, boast a record of three wins, three draws and five defeats from 11 league games this season, with a total of 12 points leaving them in 12th.

Pacheta's side appear to have turned a corner over the last month, though, losing just one of their last five matches in all competitions, including successes in both the Europa League and Copa del Rey.

Villarreal are third in their Europa League group, one point behind second-placed Panathinaikos, but they have a match spare on the top two, as their recent fixture with Maccabi Haifa was postponed.

Pacheta's team also progressed in the Copa del Rey on Thursday courtesy of a 5-0 victory over Chiclana, while they were 3-2 winners over Granada in the league last weekend, with the success proving to be their first in Spain's top flight since the middle of September.

Athletic, as mentioned, also booked their spot in the second round of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday evening courtesy of a 2-1 success over Rubi, with Malcom Adu netting twice.

Ernesto Valverde's side drew 2-2 with Valencia in the league last weekend, though, and they actually needed a 97th-minute effort from Alex Berenguer to secure a share of the spoils.

The Lions have won five, drawn three and lost three of their 11 league games this season to collect 18 points, which has left them in sixth position in the table, one point behind fifth-placed Real Sociedad.

Athletic have only managed to win one of their last five in the league, though, demonstrating the importance of their next two ahead of the November international break against Villarreal and Celta Vigo.

The Red and Whites actually suffered a 5-1 loss to Villarreal in the corresponding match last season, but they had been on a run of eight games unbeaten against the Yellow Submarine ahead of that contest.

Team News

Villarreal will again be without the services of Francis Coquelin, Denis Suarez and Yeremy Pino for the clash with Athletic, while Juan Foyth and Alfonso Pedraza remain doubts.

The Yellow Submarine are hopeful that Alexander Sorloth will overcome a slight muscular issue to feature in the final third of the field alongside Gerard Moreno once again.

Manu Trigueros scored a hat-trick in the team's 5-0 win over Chiclana in the Copa del Rey, and the Spaniard is now expected to come into a league XI this weekend.

Athletic, meanwhile, have a slight doubt over Nico Williams, who has a muscular injury, but there is hope that the Spain international will be able to start.

Yuri Berchiche is also a major doubt, while Ander Herrera and Yeray Alvarez are definitely unavailable for selection due to hamstring and muscle injuries respectively.

There will be wholesale changes to the side that started in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, but Adu's brace in the cup contest will have put him in the thinking of his manager when it comes to a potential start here.

Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Jorgensen; Alti, Albiol, Gabbia, A Moreno; Trigueros, Capoue, Parejo, Baena; G Moreno, Sorloth

Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Simon; De Marcos, Vivian, Paredes, Garcia de Albeniz; Ruiz de Galarreta, D Garcia; I Williams, Sancet, N Williams; Guruzeta

We say: Villarreal 1-1 Athletic Bilbao

Five of the last nine La Liga meetings between these two teams have finished level, and we are expecting the points to be shared once again this weekend. Villarreal have shown improvement in recent weeks, but Athletic are a strong side, and the two teams could play out a low-scoring draw here.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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