In-form Real Betis will be bidding to make it five straight wins in all competitions when they welcome Villarreal to Estadio Benito Villamarin in La Liga on Sunday night.
Betis are currently third in the table, six points behind second-placed Sevilla, while Villarreal occupy seventh position, four points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid.
Match preview
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Betis are enjoying a remarkable campaign and are currently fighting on three fronts, having booked their spot in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey on Thursday evening with a thumping 4-0 win away to Real Sociedad.
Manuel Pellegrini's side will also take on Zenit St Petersburg in the Europa League later this month, while they are third in La Liga, boasting 40 points from their opening 22 matches of the campaign.
Betis are actually only 10 points behind leaders Real Madrid, while they have a four-point advantage over fourth-placed Atletico and five over Barcelona, with both sides in a battle for a top-four finish.
The Green and Whites have been victorious in their last four matches in all competitions, including their last two in La Liga, hitting four goals against Alaves and Espanyol in back-to-back games, and they have actually netted 12 times in their last three fixtures in all competitions.
It could be a famous campaign for the club, but they have only won one of their last five league matches against Villarreal and suffered a 2-0 defeat when the two sides locked horns back in October.
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The visitors were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Sporting Gijon towards the start of January, so they have not been in action since beating Mallorca 3-0 in La Liga on January 22.
Villarreal have won eight, drawn eight and lost six of their 22 league games this season to collect 32 points, which has left them in seventh spot in the table, four points behind fourth-placed Atletico.
The Yellow Submarine have the chance to make some ground on their fellow top-four competitors this weekend, as Barcelona are taking on Atletico, while Real Sociedad have a tough match away to Valencia.
Like Betis, Villarreal are also still in Europe, with Unai Emery's side managing to negotiate their way to the knockout round of the Champions League, where they will take on Italian giants Juventus.
El Submarino Amarillo have only won once on their travels in La Liga this season, and they will be taking on a Betis side that have picked up 20 points from their 11 home league games in 2021-22.
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Team News
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Betis will again be without the services of Claudio Bravo and Martin Montoya through injury, while Cristian Tello and Victor Camarasa remain doubts for the home side.
Alex Moreno is back from a league suspension and will start, while there is also expected to be a spot in the XI for Willian Jose, who came off the bench to net against Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey.
Juanmi has scored 12 league goals this season and will again feature in a wide area, while Sergio Canales and Nabil Fekir should make up a strong attack for the hosts, who are scoring goals at an impressive rate.
As for Villarreal, Samuel Chukwueze, Serge Aurier and Aissa Mandi are back after representing their countries at the Africa Cup of Nations, but Boulaye Dia is still involved in the tournament.
Ruben Pena and Francis Coquelin will definitely miss the contest through injury, while Yeremi Pino and Juan Foyth remain doubts, but Gerard Moreno should be fit to lead the line.
The Yellow Submarine will also be boosted by the return of key midfielder Etienne Capoue, who was absent against Mallorca before the break through suspension.
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Silva; Sabaly, Pezzella, Gonzalez, A Moreno; Rodriguez, Carvalho; Fekir, Canales, Juanmi; Willian Jose
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Gaspar, Albiol, Torres, Pedraza; Parejo, Trigueros, Capoue; A Moreno, G Moreno, Gomez
We say: Real Betis 2-1 Villarreal
This should be an entertaining match between two strong sides, but it is difficult to look past Betis for the win. Villarreal have found it tough to win on their travels this term, and Betis will be absolutely flying following their brilliant victory in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey on Thursday.
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 Real Betis win with a probability of 39.21%. A win for Villarreal had a probability of 36.42% and a draw had a probability of 24.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Betis win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.58%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (7.72%) and 2-0 (5.88%). The likeliest Villarreal win was 1-2 (8.22%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.26%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 5.4% likelihood.
