Villarreal and Sevilla have been operating in roughly the same ballpark in recent years, with the duo consistently in contention for European football but a bit short on the standard required to really trouble the top three. Nothing has really changed this season, although you sense Villarreal might just be on course for the stronger campaign and with home advantage they could have the edge here.

One of the main reasons why that is the case is up front. Sevilla have struggled to find a consistent goalscorer and haven’t really replaced Kevin Gameiro, who was their last prolific frontman. Gameiro himself was effectively cover for Carlos Bacca at one point, who also enjoyed a fine spell in Seville but the Colombian joined Villarreal in the summer, a real coup for the side from the Valencian community.

With Cedric Bakambu already on their books, the Yellow Submarine already had one pretty reliable goalscorer at this level so they certainly now have more cutting edge than their opponents. The DR Congo international is having an excellent season too, with 8 goals in 11 league appearances leaving him third in the Spanish top flight’s scoring charts. He also bagged a brace on Thursday in Europe and backing Bakambu to score anytime looks good here.

It has been a difficult week for Sevilla and their coach Eduardo Berizzo, who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He will remain in charge and his team did stage a stirring Second Half comeback to draw 3-3 with Liverpool on Wednesday but their performance in the opening thirty minutes showcased severe cracks and they do look to have gone backwards this term.

Their away record is particularly poor. They’ve lost 67% of their away games in La Liga and they have perhaps a few too many flare players and not enough solid performers who are willing to scrap for the cause in tough away matches such as this. Even going forward, they’ve not been that impressive on the road with just 0.5 goals scored per game away in the league so far.

Villarreal by contrast have won 80% of their home games and have looked very good in front of their own fans. They’ve scored 12 times and conceded just once in La Liga at the Estadio de la Cerámica, so there’s plenty of reason to think going for a Home Win is the best approach here.

HEAD TO HEAD

Both meetings last term ended 0-0. Sevilla have had much the better of things in recent times though, winning 6 of the last 10 clashes to Villarreal’s 1.

STATS

Villarreal haven’t lost in their last six league games (W4 D2), keeping a clean sheet in three of them.

The Andalusian team have lost their last four away games in La Liga, failing to score in three of them. Only once in the 21st century they have lost five consecutive league games on the road (May 2016).

Villarreal have only conceded one goal at home in La Liga this term, fewer than any other team.

14 goals scored after 12 league games is Sevilla’s worst scoring record since 2011/12 (12 goals).