Sevilla vs Villarreal

La Liga top-four hopefuls Villarreal take a must-win trip to the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan to lock horns with a resurgent Sevilla side.

Fresh from a thumping 3-0 demolition of Manchester United in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie, Sevilla will be looking to maintain their resurgence under new manager Jose Luis Mendilibar. Since replacing Jorge Sampaoli at the helm in early April, Mendilibar has crafted Sevilla’s best unbeaten run in La Liga this season (W2, D1), helping the Andalusian powerhouse create an eight-point buffer on the relegation zone. Moreover, Mendilibar has unleashed Los Rojiblancos’ attacking potential that has been caged for most of the campaign, with Sevilla netting 2+ goals in four of their five competitive outings under his stewardship. But the hosts haven’t fared well against Villarreal of late, registering just four wins in their last ten top-flight H2Hs on home turf (D4, L2).

In the meantime, Villarreal’s pursuit of another top-four finish in La Liga suffered a blow last weekend as Real Valladolid knocked Quique Setien’s side down from a six-game unbeaten league run (W5, D1) with a 2-1 win at the Estadio de la Ceramica. Hitting the road could put Villarreal’s top-four charge back on track, considering they’ve won their last three away league matches by an aggregate score of 8-2, netting 2+ goals on each occasion. The continuation of that run in Andalusia is crucial, given that ‘El Submarino Amarillo’ begin this round four points below fourth-placed Real Sociedad. Taking the lead could make all the difference, as Setien’s men have dropped a league-low two points from winning position in La Liga this term.