Villarreal will be bidding to win in La Liga for the first time since the middle of September when they travel to Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes on Monday to tackle Granada.
The away side sit down in 14th position in the table, only picking up nine points from their opening 10 matches of the campaign, while Granada are 19th, collecting just six points from their first 10 games.
Match preview
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Granada secured a return to La Liga by winning the 2022-23 Segunda Division, and they will be bidding to consolidate back at this level of football following a season in the second tier.
Paco Lopez's side have found it difficult to get going this term, though, boasting a record of one win, three draws and six defeats to collect six points, which has left them down in 19th spot in the table.
Granada have not had too much trouble finding the back of the net, registering 15 goals in La Liga this season, but they have conceded 25, which is the second-worst record behind basement side Almeria (29).
The Andalusian outfit beat Mallorca 3-2 at the end of August, but they have only picked up three points from their seven games since and will enter this game off the back of a 2-0 defeat at Osasuna.
Granada are without a victory over Villarreal in Spain's top flight since March 2014, meanwhile, and the Yellow Submarine recorded a 4-1 win when the two teams last locked horns in February 2022.
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There is no question that Villarreal have underperformed this season, only picking up nine points from their opening 10 league matches, which has left them down in 14th position in the table.
The Yellow Submarine have won just twice in La Liga this term, with their last success in Spain's top flight coming in the middle of September against Almeria.
Pacheta's side suffered a 2-1 home loss to Las Palmas ahead of the international break before drawing 1-1 with Alaves on home soil last weekend.
Villarreal had been due to take on Maccabi Haifa in the Europa League last week, but the match was postponed due to the ongoing conflict in Israel, and it has been announced that the fixture will now take place behind closed doors in Cyprus.
El Submarino Amarillo have work to do in their Europa League section, with three points from two matches leaving them third in Group F, but they are now a game behind the top two Rennes and Panathinaikos.
Team News
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Granada will be without the services of Jesus Vallejo, Miguel Angel Rubio and Raul Fernandez on Monday evening due to fitness problems.
Meanwhile, Lucas Boye and Gerard Gumbau are both suspended, with the former being sent off against Osasuna last time out, while the latter picked up a milestone yellow card.
Boye's absence is likely to open the door for Myrto Uzuni to start in the final third of the field, with the 28-year-old already finding the back of the net three times in the league this season.
As for Villarreal, Yeremy Pino, Denis Suarez and Francis Coquelin are all set to miss out with injury problems, while Dani Parejo and Alfonso Pedraza are major doubts.
Parejo's likely absence is expected to open the door for Manu Trigueros to come into the side, while Alberto Moreno is expected to replace Pedraza as the left-sided wing-back.
Gerard Moreno was on the scoresheet against Alaves and should continue in the final third of the field alongside Alexander Sorloth, while Santi Comesana should retain his spot in central midfield.
Granada possible starting lineup:
Ferreira; Sanchez, Rubio, Miquel, Neva; Petrovic, Villar; Melendo, Zaragoza, A Fernandez; Uzuni
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Jorgensen; Mandi, Albiol, Cuenca; Femenia, Capoue, Trigueros, Comesana, A Moreno; G Moreno, Sorloth
We say: Granada 2-2 Villarreal
Villarreal are difficult to back at the moment, and we can see the points being shared here. Granada actually held Barcelona to a draw before the international break, and they have lost just one of their last four matches at home, so we are expecting the spoils to be shared in Monday's fixture.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
