Villarreal vs Getafe

Out-of-sorts La Liga heavyweights Villarreal entertain perennial relegation strugglers Getafe at the Estadio de la Ceramica.

Quique Setien’s faltering managerial tenure at Villarreal hangs by a thread after his men lost four consecutive matches in La Liga, including a thumping 4-2 defeat at Mallorca last time out. Before the home side’s freefall down the top half of the standings, they were genuine top-four candidates, yet they now can hope of securing Europa Conference League football at best. Back at La Ceramica, where they’ve gone from three straight league wins to back-to-back 1-0 losses, ‘El Submarino Amarillo’ can draw confidence from having defeated Getafe ‘to nil’ in their last three top-flight H2Hs on home turf. Home and away, Villarreal are unbeaten in eight successive La Liga meetings with this opposition (W6, D2), though the reverse fixture earlier this season yielded a tepid 0-0 draw.

In the meantime, Getafe pulled off an all-important 1-0 home win over fellow relegation rivals Valencia last weekend, ending a woeful run of six league games without winning (D2, L4). But after Valencia’s hard-fought home triumph over Real Sociedad earlier this weekend, the visitors must pick up points at La Ceramica to climb out of the bottom three. That’s easier said than done, with Getafe losing three away matches in La Liga before a stunning 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid on their most recent league travel. Quique Sanches Flores’ men tend to jangle with their fans’ nerves, with 42% of Getafe’s goals in La Liga this season coming inside the final 15 minutes of play (8/19).