Villarreal will look to get back to winning ways in Spain’s top flight when they continue their campaign with a home game against Elche on Sunday.

The Yellow Submarine is currently fourth in the standings LaLiga tabletied on points with Atlético de Madrid, third, while Elche is in 17th place, two points from the relegation zone.

Match preview

Villarreal came up against a Barcelona side in good spirits last weekend, with the Catalan side claiming a 4-1 victory over the Yellow Submarine at the Camp Nou, but Marcelino’s side will be hoping to bounce back at home on Sunday afternoon.

The Yellow Submarine has a record of 16 wins, three draws and seven losses in its 26 league games this season, with 51 points that place it fourth in the table, tied on points with Atlético, third, and eight ahead of Real Betis, fifth.

Marcelino’s side have been excellent at home this season, picking up 31 points from their 13 league games in front of their own fans, achieving 10 wins in the process.

Villarreal have only faced Elche on 22 previous occasions throughout history, and they barely lead the head-to-head matchup with eight wins to seven.

Marcelino’s team achieved a 3-1 victory in the reverse match between the two teams earlier this season, while they won 4-0 in the corresponding match during the 2022-23 season.

Elche did beat Villarreal in February 2023, but they have not been able to beat the Yellow Submarine in their travels since May 2013, demonstrating the magnitude of their task in this match.

Eder Sarabia’s team comes into Sunday’s game after a 2-2 draw with Espanyol, the result of a 2-1 defeat against Athletic Bilbao.

The Green Stripes, who finished second in the Second Division last season to secure promotion to the top flight, are currently embroiled in a relegation battle.

In fact, a record of five wins, 11 draws and 10 losses in their 26 matches has left them 17th in the table with 26 points, just two points outside the bottom three.

However, Elche have scored 34 goals in La Liga this season, representing an excellent attacking record, and their firepower could be crucial when it comes to the battle for survival.

Villarreal’s form in La Liga:

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Elche’s form in LaLiga:

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Team news

Villarreal will once again be without the services of Juan Foyth, Pau Cabanes, Logan Costa and Willy Kambwala for this weekend’s game against Elche due to injury, while Gerard Moreno faces a late fitness test with a thigh problem.

Coach Marcelino is expected to resist the temptation to change his team despite the team’s problems against Barcelona last time out, but there could be a change at left back, with the possible introduction of Alfonso Pedraza.

Georges Mikautadze will once again be accompanied in the final third of the field by Ayoze Pérez.

As for Elche, Yago Santiago is still unavailable for selection due to suspension, while on-loan Barcelona defender Héctor Fort remains sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Pedro Bigas was substituted in the interval of Elche’s clash against Espanyol due to a small problem, so Víctor Chust could be introduced in defense here.

Meanwhile, there should be another start in a wide area for Tete Morente, who was one of Elche’s best players in the 2-2 draw against Espanyol.

Villarreal’s possible starting lineup:

Luis Junior; Mourino, Navarro, Veiga, Pedraza; Pepe, Comesana, Gueye, Moleiro; Perez, Mikautadze

Possible starting lineup for Elche:

Dituro; Petrot, Affengruber, Chust, Valera; Morente, Febas, Aguado, Cepeda; A Silva, Mir

We say: Villarreal 2-1 Elche

Elche’s offensive threat should equalize a goal on Sunday, but we don’t expect them to shut out Villarreal at the other end of the field, and the Yellow Submarine should be able to get the three points.

For a data analysis of the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this match, click here.