Villarreal will be looking to end a four-game winless run in La Liga when they continue their domestic campaign at home to basement side Getafe on Sunday afternoon.
The Yellow Submarine have struggled for consistency this season and currently sit down in 13th position in the table, while Getafe are bottom of the division, having collected just six points from 12 matches.
Match preview
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Villarreal picked up a huge three points in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, recording a 2-0 victory over Young Boys, with the result leaving them second in Group F, level on points with leaders Manchester United ahead of a clash between the two sides later this month.
The Yellow Submarine have found it difficult to impress in the league this season, though, winning just two of their 11 matches, and a total of 12 points has left them down in 13th position in the table.
Villarreal have been beaten in three of their last four league games, picking up just a single point in the process, and they will enter this contest off the back of a 2-0 loss at Valencia last weekend.
The speculation surrounding head coach Unai Emery has ended, though, with the Spaniard, who was Newcastle United's number one choice for the managerial position, rejecting the chance to join the Magpies.
As a result, it has been a positive week for the Yellow Submarine, who will be looking to record a fifth straight league victory over Getafe when the two teams lock horns on Sunday afternoon.
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Getafe, meanwhile, will enter this weekend's contest off the back of a hugely important 2-1 victory over Espanyol last weekend; the win was the club's first of the campaign, with Enes Unal's double proving enough to secure a vital three points for the Deep Blue Ones.
Quique Sanchez Flores has certainly overseen an improvement since his appointment as head coach towards the start of October, winning one, drawing two and losing just one of his four games at the helm in what is his third spell at the club.
Getafe remain bottom of the table, though, having picked up just six points from their opening 12 matches, while they have worryingly only found the back of the opposition's net on six occasions in 2021-22.
The capital outfit finished eighth, fifth and eighth in La Liga between 2017 and 2010 but ended last season in 15th, and it would not be a surprise to see them in and around the bottom five for much of the campaign.
As mentioned, Getafe have lost each of their last four league games against Villarreal and have not overcome the Yellow Submarine since a 2-1 success in January 2019.
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Team News
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Villarreal will again be without the services of Juan Foyth and Gerard Moreno this weekend through injury, but Serge Aurier is available once again, having been ineligible to play in the Champions League.
Aurier could be rotated into the side at right-back, while Samuel Chukwueze, Manu Trigueros and Alberto Moreno are among those pushing for spots in the side.
Head coach Emery will be determined to enter the international break off the back of a league win, though, so changes are likely to be minimal, meaning that Yeremi Pino and Arnaut Danjuma should both again feature in the final third, while Boulaye Dia could edge out Paco Alcacer.
As for Getafe, Sabit Abdulai remains on the sidelines through injury, while Jakub Jankto, Vitolo, Sandro Ramirez and Mathias Olivera are also expected to be absent.
Chema Rodriguez is available for selection following a ban, but Damian Suarez will sit this one out due to the booking that he picked up in the win over Espanyol.
There could be just the one change from the side that started last time out, with Suarez's spot on the right of midfield potentially being taken by Juan Iglesias.
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Aurier, Albiol, Torres, Pedraza; Parejo, Coquelin, Capoue; Pino, Dia, Danjuma
Getafe possible starting lineup:
Soria; Nyom, Mitrovic, Dakonam, Akurugu; Iglesias, Arambarri, Maksimovic, Alena; Poveda, Unal
We say: Villarreal 2-1 Getafe
This is a very difficult match to call, as Villarreal have found it difficult to show their best form in La Liga this season. The two teams have drawn nine league games between them in the league this term, but we just have a feeling for Villarreal here and are backing the hosts to edge a tight contest.
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 57.05%. A draw had a probability of 25.5% and a win for Getafe had a probability of 17.44%.
The most likely scoreline for a Villarreal win was 1-0 with a probability of 15.89%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (12.32%) and 2-1 (8.96%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.55%), while for a Getafe win it was 0-1 (7.46%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 15.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Villarreal in this match.
