Villarreal will be looking to bounce back from their Champions League defeat to Manchester United when they resume their La Liga campaign at home to Real Betis on Sunday night.
The loss at Old Trafford was Villarreal's first in any competition this season, and the Yellow Submarine will be facing a Betis side that won 3-1 at Ferencvaros in the Europa League on Thursday.
Match preview
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Villarreal were excellent for long stages of their Champions League clash with Man United on Wednesday and after a host of pressure, Unai Emery's side finally took the lead early in the second period through Paco Alcacer.
Alex Telles levelled the scores on the hour, though, before Cristiano Ronaldo came up with a last-gasp winner for the Red Devils, with Villarreal left to rue a host of missed opportunities at Old Trafford.
The Yellow Submarine have been the draw specialists in La Liga this season, sharing the points in five of their six encounters, winning the other against Elche, to collect eight points, which has left them in 11th in the table.
Emery's team held Real Madrid to a goalless draw at the Bernabeu last weekend, meanwhile, and will now be looking for their second league victory of the season, which would almost certainly move them up the division ahead of the international break.
Villarreal have only won one of their last three league matches against Betis, though, and suffered a 2-1 defeat in the corresponding fixture during the 2020-21 campaign.
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Betis, meanwhile, will enter this weekend's contest off the back of a 3-1 success at Ferencvaros in the Europa League on Thursday night, which was the team's third straight victory in all competitions.
Manuel Pellegrini's side have picked up six points from their two Europa League fixtures this term to sit second in Group G, while they have won three of their last four in La Liga during a strong run of form.
Betis have won three, drawn three and lost one of their seven La Liga matches this season to collect 12 points, which has left them in seventh position in the table, four points ahead of their opponents this weekend.
Los Verdiblancos finished sixth in La Liga last season and will be expecting to challenge high up the division once again, but Pellegrini will have to balance his squad due to their European commitments.
The Seville outfit, as mentioned, ran out 2-1 winners over Villarreal in the corresponding fixture last term, and they are unbeaten in each of their last eight league matches on their travels during an impressive run.
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Team News
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Villarreal will again be without the services of Gerard Moreno this weekend through injury, while Samuel Chukwueze and Dani Raba are unlikely to be involved despite making progress in their recoveries.
Alcacer has also emerged as a doubt, having picked up a knock against Man United on Wednesday, so there could be a spot at the tip of the attack for Boulaye Dia.
Raul Albiol was forced off against the Red Devils in the Champions League, meanwhile, and could be replaced by Aissa Mandi, while Alfonso Pedraza is in line to feature at left-back.
As for Betis, Victor Ruiz, Youssouf Sabaly and Sergio Canales have all been ruled out of the contest, but Diego Lainez is available once again following a long-term ankle issue.
There will be changes from the side that started in the Europa League on Thursday, with Hector Bellerin, Juanmi, Guido Rodriguez and Willian Jose among those expected to come into the side.
Nabil Fekir should again operate as the number 10 for Pellegrini's team, while Rodri is likely to retain his spot in an attacking area for the in-form visitors.
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Foyth, Torres, Mandi, Pedraza; Trigueros, Capoue, Parejo; Pino, Dia, Danjuma
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Bravo; Bellerin, Pezzella, Gonzalez, Miranda; Rodriguez, Carvalho; Rodri, Fekir, Juanmi; Willian Jose
We say: Villarreal 2-1 Real Betis
Villarreal have been the draw specialists in La Liga this season, and it would not be a surprise to see the two teams share the spoils here. The Yellow Submarine were impressive for long spells against Man United, though, and we are just backing the hosts to shade a close contest at Estadio de la Ceramica.
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 Villarreal win with a probability of 41.11%. A win for Real Betis had a probability of 31.75% and a draw had a probability of 27.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Villarreal win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.38%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.52%) and 2-0 (7.54%). The likeliest Real Betis win was 0-1 (9.7%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.85%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 7.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Villarreal would win this match.
