With a place in the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League up for grabs, Villarreal and Anderlecht will renew acquaintances in Spain on Thursday evening.
The two sides played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg, with Anderlecht coming from behind to set up a pivotal second-leg showdown at El Madrigal.
Match preview
© Reuters
When Manu Trigueros gave his team the lead midway through the first half, it looked as though Villarreal would go on to dominate proceedings in Belgium, but the visitors failed to build on their strong start.
Despite registering five shots on target in the first leg, Villarreal were unable to make their dominance count, allowing Anders Dreyer to equalise for the hosts just before the hour mark.
Nevertheless, Quique Setien's men will be confident of getting the job done in front of their passionate supporters at El Madrigal, having produced an impressive away performance against Anderlecht last week.
Villarreal extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to four games with an important 1-1 draw against Champions League-chasing Real Betis on Sunday, keeping the Yellow Submarine within touching distance of La Liga's top four.
It is worth remembering that Villarreal lifted the Europa League trophy in 2020-21 before making it all the way to the Champions League semi-finals last season, so the Spanish outfit know what it takes to succeed in Europe.
© Reuters
Following a shaky start, Anderlecht grew into the first leg and eventually came away with a deserved draw, courtesy of a sublime long-range strike from January arrival Anders Dreyer.
Dreyer has now chalked up four goals and two assists following his move from Danish side FC Midtjylland, with last week's goal preceding an assist in Anderlecht's 2-0 victory over Cercle Brugge on Sunday.
It is also worth noting that Islam Slimani bagged a brace last time out, taking his tally to five goals in nine appearances for the Purple & White after joining from French club Brest during the winter transfer window.
Anderlecht will need their new signings to continue their impressive starts, as the fallen giants find themselves ninth in the Belgian Pro League table – 28 points behind first-placed Genk – having lost 12 of their 29 league matches this term.
Although Brian Riemer's men have upped their game in recent weeks – losing just one of their last six outings across all competitions – they could find it difficult to overcome Villarreal at El Madrigal.
Team News
© Reuters
Villarreal welcomed back Nicolas Jackson at the weekend as the striker returned from injury with a substitute appearance in the 1-1 draw against Real Betis.
However, Francis Coquelin remains on Villarreal's injury list, with the ex-Arsenal midfielder expected to miss the rest of the season due to an ACL tear.
After coming off the bench in the first leg, Gerard Moreno stepped up his return from injury with a start against Betis, so the crafty forward will be hopeful of enhancing his tally of 10 goals and five assists on Thursday.
As for the visitors, Islam Slimani is expected to retain his place in the starting lineup following his double against Cercle Brugge at the weekend, keeping Benito Raman on the bench.
With midfielder Marco Kana (toe) and defender Hannes Delcroix (knee) still sidelined due to injury, Anderlecht manager Brian Riemer may be tempted to stick with the same XI that started Sunday's victory.
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Reina; Foyth, Albiol, Torres, Alfonso; Terrats, Parejo, Trigueros; Chukwueze, Moreno, Pino
Anderlecht possible starting lineup:
Verbruggen; Murillo, Debast, Vertonghen, Sardella; Verschaeren, Arnstad, Ashimeru; Dreyer, Slimani, Amuzu
We say: Villarreal 3-0 Anderlecht
We expect Villarreal to book their place in the quarter-finals with a high-scoring victory over Anderlecht, whose below-par campaign looks set to worsen with a Europa Conference League exit.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Morris
