Preview: Villarreal vs. Sevilla - prediction, team news, lineups

Villarreal will be looking for their fourth La Liga victory in a row when they welcome Sevilla to Estadio de la Ceramica on Monday night.

The Yellow Submarine have got their season firmly back on track with three straight victories, while Sevilla, who are currently third in the table, are unbeaten in their last seven La Liga matches.

Match preview

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It would be fair to say that Villarreal were struggling for form immediately before the lockdown period, suffering three straight league defeats to slide down the table.

The Yellow Submarine have been in impressive form since the league's restart earlier this month, though, beating Celta Vigo, Mallorca and Granada 1-0 to pick up nine points from an available nine.

The strong run of results has seen Javi Calleja 's side rise into seventh position in the table, just two points off fourth-placed Atletico Madrid and five behind third-placed Sevilla at this stage.

The volume of fixtures over the next couple of days means that the picture is likely to be different by the time that Villarreal take to the field for this match, although they are very much in the argument for a European spot at this stage and certainly have a squad capable of finishing the season strongly.

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Sevilla, meanwhile, will enter the match off the back of a goalless draw with Barcelona on Friday night. Julen Lopetegui 's side have now picked up five points from their three matches since returning to action, having also beaten Real Betis and Levante over the last nine days.

Los Nervionenses have actually only lost one of their last 10 in the league, and as mentioned, currently sit third in the table, three points ahead of fourth-placed Atletico Madrid.

Diego Simeone 's side will have the chance to move above them on Saturday night, though, while Getafe and Real Sociedad will also be looking to make ground on Sevilla before this particular match.

Lopetegui's side certainly have some winnable games in the coming weeks, but the strange set of circumstances surrounding the restart makes shock results even likelier to occur.

Sevilla have also lost their last two league matches with Villarreal, while they have only beaten the Yellow Submarine in one of their last seven meetings in Spain's top flight.

Villarreal La Liga form: LLLWWW

Sevilla La Liga form: WWDWDD

Sevilla form (all competitions): DWDWDD

Team News

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Villarreal will have key centre-back Pau Torres back from suspension for this match, but Ramiro Funes Mori and Ramiro Guerra are both still on the sidelines for the home side.

Calleja is likely to shuffle his pack from the side that beat Granada on Friday, meaning that Samuel Chukwueze, Santi Cazorla and Mario Gaspar could earn recalls.

It would not be a surprise to see Villarreal revert back to a 4-3-3 formation for this contest, with Carlos Bacca potentially dropping to the bench after starting the last two.

As for Sevilla, Lopetegui has a full squad to choose from at the moment, meaning that he has a number of decisions to make in terms of team selection, particularly in the final third.

The bulk of the XI that started against Barca are expected to again take to the field for this match, although Ever Banega for Oliver Torres is a change that could happen in the middle of the park.

Franco Vazquez is also pushing for a spot in the XI, but Munir El Haddadi and Lucas Ocampos are again expected to join Luuk de Jong in the final third of the field.

Villarreal possible starting lineup:

Asenjo; Gaspar, Albiol, Torres, Moreno; Cazorla, Trigueros, Iborra; Moreno, Alcacer, Chukwueze

Sevilla possible starting lineup:

Vaclik; Navas, Kounde, Carlos, Reguilon; Banega, Fernando, Jordan; Munir, De Jong, Ocampos

We say: Villarreal 1-1 Sevilla

Four of the last seven La Liga meetings between these two teams have finished level, while Sevilla have drawn three of their last four in Spain's top flight. We are finding it difficult to separate them in Monday's clash, but a share of the spoils would not be the worst result for either side.