Villarreal will be looking to bounce back from European disappointment when they continue their La Liga campaign away to Rayo Vallecano on Sunday afternoon.
The Yellow Submarine suffered a 2-0 defeat to Panathinaikos in the Europa League on Thursday, while Rayo will enter the match off the back of a 2-0 victory over Alaves in the league.
Match preview
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Rayo have won three and lost two of their five league matches this season to collect nine points, which has left them in sixth position in the table heading into the next set of fixtures.
Los Franjirrojos have finished 12th and 11th in their last two La Liga campaigns, and they will be targeting a similar spot this term under new head coach Francisco, who replaced Andoni Iraola over the summer.
Rayo's season actually started with successive wins over Almeria and Granada, but they then suffered a staggering 7-0 home defeat to Atletico Madrid at the end of August.
The capital side were then beaten 1-0 at Real Betis ahead of the international break but were back to winning ways last Friday, overcoming Alaves 2-0 courtesy of goals from Isi Palazon and Jorge de Frutos.
Rayo actually did the double over Villarreal in La Liga last season, including a 2-1 victory on home soil, and they will certainly be the fresher of the two teams heading into this match, as Villarreal were in European action in Greece on Thursday evening.
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Villarreal's preparation for this match will have been very short indeed, as they opened their Europa League group-stage campaign on Thursday with a 2-0 defeat to Panathinaikos.
The Yellow Submarine have found it difficult to get going in the early weeks of the 2023-24 campaign, and they will enter this match off the back of three defeats from their last four matches.
Villarreal lost three of their first four La Liga games of the season, which led to Quique Setien losing his job as head coach, with Pacheta now in charge of first-team proceedings.
Pacheta managed to lead the team to victory in his first game at the helm last weekend, beating Almeria 2-1, with Gerard Moreno and Alexander Sorloth on the scoresheet at Estadio de la Ceramica.
A total of six points has left the Yellow Submarine in 13th position in the table, but there is still an awful lot of football to play, and they will be confident of rising up the division in the coming weeks.
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Team News
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Rayo's squad is in excellent shape at the moment, with no injury problems being reported ahead of their contest with Villarreal this weekend.
The bulk of the XI that took to the field for the first whistle against Alaves last weekend should keep their spots, but De Frutos will certainly be in the manager's thinking when it comes to a potential start.
De Frutos for Alvaro Garcia might be the only change from last Friday's contest, with the likes of Raul de Tomas and Pathe Ciss likely to have to accept substitute roles once again.
Villarreal, meanwhile, will be missing Denis Suarez, Ramon Terrats, Jorge Cuenca and Francis Coquelin through injury; Alfonso Pedraza is also still unavailable for selection due to suspension.
There will be a number of changes to the side that started in Greece on Thursday, with Yeremy Pino, Sorloth and Gerard Moreno all set to return in attacking positions.
Dani Parejo, Raul Albiol, Juan Foyth and Alex Baena should also all earn recalls, with the team set to have a very different look from the European encounter last time out.
Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:
Dimitrievski; Balliu, Aridane, Lejeune, Espino; Valentin, U Lopez; Palazon, Perez, De Frutos; Camello
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Jorgensen; Foyth, Albiol, Gabbia, Romero; Parejo, Capoue; Pino, G Moreno, Baena; Sorloth
We say: Rayo Vallecano 1-1 Villarreal
Rayo will certainly be the fresher outfit, but the majority of the players that started for Villarreal on Thursday will not be in their XI for this match. We actually fancy a low-scoring draw in this contest, which would not be the worst result in the world for either team.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
