Thoughts Return to Relegation for Villarreal

imagestockdesign / Shutterstock.com

There are several games on Sunday in La Liga one of which is a key match between Villarreal and Sevilla.

Both teams were in action during the week as they contested the first leg of their Europa League ties but thoughts must turn to domestic action.  For Villarreal that means a relegation battle as they start the weekend in 19th place while Sevilla will be hoping to remain in the top four with a win.

Villarreal come into this game having defeated Sporting Lisbon 1-0 away from home in the Europa League on Thursday night.  It was a good result against one of the top teams in the Portuguese league and stands them in good stead for the second leg.

However, Villarreal CF are in trouble in La Liga and they have failed to win any of their last ten matches. Going back further and trends show Villarreal have own only three of their last twenty-four league games which is a dreadful record.

You must go back to the 25th November to find the last time Villarreal won a league match and that was at home to Real Betis.  Since then, Villarreal have drawn six and lost four of their ten La Liga games.

Home form shows they have lost two of their last eight, making them undefeated in six but only one of those matches resulted in a win.  Conceding goals has been a real problem for Villarreal and despite finding the back of the net in each of their last eight home La Liga games, they have failed to keep a single clean sheet.

Much like their hosts, Sevilla tasted success in the Europa League on Thursday night, coming away from a tricky game against Lazio in Rome with a 1-0 win.  However, that win was only their third in their last nine matches and Sevilla have been quite inconsistent of late.

Prior to the match in Rome, Sevilla lost 6-1 in Barcelona, 1-0 in Celta Vigo and were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Eibar.

Trends show Sevilla have lost each of their last three away games in La Liga, failing to score a single goal in the process. You must go back to the 29th September and the game at Eibar to find the last time they won an away match in the league and they have failed in their eight attempts since.

Team news and Villarreal have Bruno Soriano back in training but it remains to be seen if he will be considered for this match.  Santi Cazorla and Vicente Iborra were on the bench in mid-week but will hope to start.

Sevilla are still without Nolito due to a broken leg and he is joined on the treatment table by Guilherme Arana.  There are doubts over Aleix Vidal, Joris Gnagnon and Maxime Gonalons, the latter of which is back in training following a broken ankle.

Sevilla have struggled away from home in La Liga recently but have a good record against Villarreal, who are in poor form domestically.  Sevilla to win and both teams to score looks a likely outcome for this one.