Villarreal are heading into the match on the back of a 1-1 draw away to Valencia almost ten days ago, while the visitors suffered a narrow 1-0 loss against sixth-placed Real Betis.
Follow Us
Villarreal will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to four games and close the gap on La Liga top four to four points when they host Athletic Bilbao at El Madrigal on Saturday. The hosts are currently occupying fifth spot in the Spanish top flight standings, having collected 54 points from 33 games, seven adrift of fourth-placed Real Sociedad. The visitors meanwhile, are sitting three places behind the Yellow Submarine, separated by seven points. Villarreal are heading into the match on the back of a 1-1 draw away to Valencia almost ten days ago, while the visitors suffered a narrow 1-0 loss against sixth-placed Real Betis.
Europe is up for grabs.#VillarrealAthletic
— Villarreal CF English (@VillarrealCFen) May 12, 2023
Villarreal shared the spoils against Valencia at Mestalla despite taking the lead through Nicolas Jackson’s opener on the hour-mark. Prior to that, the Yellow Submarine secured their 16th top flight victory of the season against Celta Vigo (3-1) thanks to Jackson’s first-half brace and Ramon Terrats’s second-half effort. With seven points taken from their last three outings, Quique Setien’s side have moved two points clear of sixth-placed Betis and are in pole position to qualify for the group stages of next season’s Europa League. Meanwhile, with five games remaining, Villarreal can also challenge for a top four finish. The Yellow submarine’s home-form this season has been pretty strong, having collected 32 points from 16 league-matches at El Madrigal.
Athletic Bilbao, on the other hand, have the sixth-best away-record in the top flight this season, having pocketed 23 points from a possible 28 so far. In fact, Lions are unbeaten in their last five league-matches on the road, while winning three outings in the period. Meanwhile, Ernesto Valverde’s side suffered their 12th La Liga-defeat of the campaign against Betis last time out courtesy of Willian Jose’s lone goal inside the opening six minutes. The result extended their winless run to three matches, losing two times along the way. Athletic Club have won 13 top flight games this season and their last success came away to Almeria last month.
Villarreal probable starting lineup: Reina, Foyth, Albiol, P Torres, Pedraza, Capoue, Parejo, Baena, Chukwueze, G Moreno, Jackson
Athletic Bilbao probable starting lineup: Simon, De Marcos, Balenziaga, Paredes, Yuri, Herrera, Vesga, I Williams, Sancet, N Williams, Guruzeta
Villarreal
| Opponents | Score |
| Valencia | 1-1 (D) |
| Celta Vigo | 3-1 (W) |
| Espanyol | 4-2 (W) |
| Sevilla | 2-1 (L) |
| Valladolid | 1-2 (L) |
Athletic Bilbao
| Opponents | Score |
| Betis | 0-1 (L) |
| Mallorca | 1-1 (D) |
| Sevilla | 0-1 (L) |
| Almeria | 1-2 (W) |
| Real Sociedad | 2-0 (W) |
| Last 5 match-results | Score |
| Athletic Bilbao beat Villarreal | 1-0 |
| Villarreal draw Athletic Bilbao | 1-1 |
| athletic Bilbao beat Villarreal | 2-1 |
| Athletic Bilbao draw Villarreal | 1-1 |
| Villarreal draw Athletic Bilbao | 1-1 |
The La Liga match between Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao will take place at El Madrigal on Saturday at 10:00 pm.
| Villarreal vs Athletic Bilbao | Key Details |
| Date | May 13 |
| Venue | El Madrigal |
| Kickoff time in Spain | 6:30 pm |
| Kickoff time in india | 10:00 pm |
The live telecast of the La Liga matches in India will be available on Sports 18 network. Besides, football fans in India can also live stream through Jio TV. Meanwhile those in Spain can catch the live action via Movistar + and Movistar La Liga.
More football news:
Leeds United vs Newcastle United: Find out which Newcastle players will be missing the crucial clash
