Villarreal vs Deportivo Alaves

Mid-table Villarreal will be looking to keep their momentum going when they take on relegation-threatened Deportivo Alaves at the Estadio de la Ceramica in a seemingly must-win La Liga showdown.

Villarreal enter this round amid a noticeable upturn in form, having lost their last two La Liga matches by a two-goal margin after going winless in three league outings on the trot beforehand (D1, L2). Despite hovering in mid-table, it’s not too late for ‘El Submarino Amarillo’ to fight their way back into the top-four race, as they sit eight points below fourth-placed Rayo Vallecano, albeit they have a game in hand over them. Alaves’ visit to the province of Castellon looks like a prime opportunity for Villarreal to bridge the gap on Vallecano, as they’ve won both previous top-flight H2Hs at home by 3+ goals ‘to one.’ A 2-0 triumph over Vallecano of all teams in Villarreal’s most recent La Liga home outing presents Unai Emery’s side with a chance to rack up back-to-back home league victories for only the second time this season.

In the meantime, a run of five La Liga matches without a win (D2, L3) has seen Alaves slide to the drop zone, though they are level on points with 17th-placed Elche. However, a 2-0 away defeat to Vallecano last time out marked Alaves’ tenth La Liga reverse this season (W4, D3), as they are now one of just two teams in Spain’s top-flight to have hit double digits in terms of league losses this term. It goes from bad to worse away from home, where ‘El Glorioso’ have only won one of their eight La Liga fixtures this season (D2, L5), netting a measly average of 0.75 goals per game in the process. Indeed, a lack of firepower up front has seen Javier Calleja’s team score just 13 La Liga goals to date, with only Getafe (12) bagging fewer in the division so far.