The hosts are heading into the match on the back of a 2-1 defeat away to Sevilla on Sunday, while Espanyol played out a goalless draw against Cadiz.
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Villarreal will be desperate to get back to winning ways in the La Liga when they host Espanyol at El Madrigal on Thursday. The hosts are heading into the match on the back of a 2-1 defeat away to Sevilla on Sunday, while Espanyol played out a goalless draw against Cadiz. As of now, the Yellow Submarine are occupying sixth spot in the Spanish top flight standings, having collected 47 points from 30 games, eight adrift of fourth-placed Real Sociedad, who have played a game more. The visitors, meanwhile, are languishing at the 19th position, with 28 points to their name, just three away from safety, but have a game in hand over 17th-placed Getafe.
Last season, @santos_yeremy made history in #VillarrealEspanyol, scoring…
⚽⚽⚽⚽ 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗚𝗢𝗔𝗟𝗦! pic.twitter.com/81N1y90YPT
— Villarreal CF English (@VillarrealCFen) April 26, 2023
Villarreal suffered their second consecutive defeat on Sunday night at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium despite the fact that Pau Torres canceled out Rafa Mir’s opener. Youssef En-Nesyri’s dramatic winner four minutes into the injury time handed the Yellow Submarine their 11th league-defeat of the season. With eight games remaining, Quique Setien’s side are still very much alive in the top four race, and need to stitch together and god run of positive results to secure a Champions League spot. Meanwhile, Villarreal are currently occupying the Europa Conference League spot, just a solitary point clear of seventh-placed Athletic Bilbao. The Yellow Submarine secured a narrow 1-0 win over Espanyol in the reverse fixture in November last year.
Espanyol, on the other hand, ended a six-game losing streak when they played out a 0-0 draw at home against Cadiz last weekend. The White and Blue have taken just a point from their last seven outings, and courtesy of the poor run of form, remain embroiled in the relegation dog fight. Parakeets has a mixed set of final fixtures to end the campaign, with tricky encounters against Leaders Barcelona, third-placed Atletico Madrid and European challengers Villarreal accompanied by clashes against Getafe, Valencia and Almeria. Espanyol have won only six top flight games this season and their last success came against Mallorca in February.
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Villarreal probable starting lineup: Reina, Foyth, Mandi, P. Torres, Pedraza, Chukwueze, Parejo, Capoue, Pino, Lo Celso, Jackson
Espanyol probable starting lineup: Pacheco, Gil, Montes, Gomes, Cabrera, Pedrosa, Exposito, Souza, Darder, Braithwaite, Joselu
Villarreal
| Opponents | Score |
| Sevilla | 2-1 (L) |
| Valladolid | 1-2 (L) |
| Real Madrid | 2-3 (W) |
| Real Sociedad | 2-0 (W) |
| Osasuna | 0-3 (W) |
Espanyol
| Opponents | Score |
| Cadiz | 0-0 (D) |
| Betis | 3-1 (L) |
| Athletic Bilbao | 1-2 (L) |
| Girona | 2-1 (L) |
| Celta Vigo | 1-3 (L) |
| Last 5 match-results | Score |
| Villarreal beat Espanyol | 0-1 |
| Villarreal beat Espanyol | 5-1 |
| Espanyol draw Villarreal | 0-0 |
| Espanyol beat villarreal | 1-2 |
| Villarreal beat Espanyol | 0-1 |
The La Liga match between Villarreal and Espanyol will take place at El Madrigal on Thursday at 11:00 pm IST.
| Villarreal vs Espanyol | Key Details |
| Date | April 27 |
| Venue | El Madrigal |
| kickoff time in Spain | 7:30 pm |
| Kickoff time in India | 11:00 pm |
The live telecast of the La Liga matches in India will be available on Sports 18 network. Besides, those in India can also live stream through Jip TV. Meanwhile, those in Spain can watch the match on Movistar + and Movistar La Liga.
