Both Villarreal and Valencia will be looking to make it back-to-back wins in Spain's top flight when they lock horns on Saturday afternoon.
Villarreal recorded a 1-0 victory over Espanyol in their last La Liga fixture before the campaign was halted for the World Cup, while Valencia impressively beat Real Betis 3-0 in their last league game.
Match preview
© Reuters
Villarreal have finished fifth, seventh and seventh in their last three La Liga campaigns, but they are currently down in ninth spot in the table, having picked up 21 points from their opening 14 matches of the season.
The Yellow Submarine are only three points behind fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao, which is an indication of how quickly things could change with a couple of strong or indeed poor results.
Villarreal were last in La Liga action away to Espanyol on November 9, recording a 1-0 victory over the Catalan outfit, with Benjamin Lecomte scoring an own goal in the 64th minute of the contest.
Quique Setien's side have played twice in the Copa del Rey since their last league match, though, beating Santa Amalia 9-0 and Guijuelo 2-1 to progress in the competition.
Villarreal recorded a 2-0 victory over Valencia in the corresponding match last season, while there has not been a draw between these two sides since September 2018, with Valencia winning four of their last seven meetings.
© Reuters
Valencia, meanwhile, recorded a 3-0 victory over Real Betis in their last league match on November 10, with Andre Almeida, Hugo Guillamon and Justin Kluivert on the scoresheet.
The result left Los Che in 10th position in the table, two points behind their opponents in this match.
Valencia have actually scored 22 times in the league this season, which is seven more than Villarreal, with Edinson Cavani their leading goalscorer with four in seven appearances.
Gennaro Gattuso's side are likely to lack the consistency required to be top-six challengers this season, but they are only five points off the European positions at this stage and showed their credentials with the impressive three-goal success over Real Betis before the break for the World Cup.
Valencia will be in Copa del Rey action against La Nucia on January 3, while their first league match of 2023 will be at home to Cadiz ahead of a clash with Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup.
Team News
© Reuters
Villarreal will be missing Giovani Lo Celso due to a hamstring problem, but the home side should otherwise be in good shape for Saturday's contest with Valencia.
Pau Torres is back from the suspension that ruled him out against Espanyol in the team's last league match, while Gerard Moreno is fit to lead the line after some fitness problems this season.
Head coach Setien will make changes from the side that started against Guijuelo in the Copa del Rey, with Etienne Capoue, Dani Parejo and Arnaut Danjuma among those expected to be introduced.
As for Valencia, Jaume Domenech remains out with an ACL injury, but Cavani, Ilaix Moriba and Mouctar Diakhaby are expected to be passed fit for the visitors.
Head coach Gattuso will have been delighted with what he saw from his side against Real Betis last time out, so it is expected to be close to the same XI for this weekend's contest.
Cavani could replace Hugo Duro at centre-forward, but Samuel Lino and Samu Castillejo should both keep their spots in the final third of the field.
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Femenia, Albiol, P Torres, Moreno; Capoue, Parejo, Trigueros; Chukwueze, G Moreno, Danjuma
Valencia possible starting lineup:
Mamardashvili; Correia, Comert, Ozkacar, Gaya; Musah, Gonzalez, Almeida; Castillejo, Cavani, Lino
We say: Villarreal 1-1 Valencia
As mentioned, there has not been a draw between these two sides since September 2018, with each of the last seven La Liga meetings producing a winner. However, we are struggling to separate them here, as Valencia will be full of confidence following their success over Real Betis before the campaign was halted.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
