Villarreal (4-4-2):
Diego Lopez; Mario, Gonzalo, Zapata, Oriol; Borja Valero, Bruno, Marchena, Cani; Rossi, Nilmar
Juan Carlos Garrido will have a full-squad at his disposable for the visit of Sevilla to El Madrigal on Saturday.
Mario, who missed Villarreal’s 5-0 thrashing at the hands-of Barcelona due to suspension, returns to the squad and is expected to slot into his customary right-back position with Cristian Zapata likely to partner Gonzalo Rodriguez, who is thought to be fully-fit. The Yellow Submarines' captain featured in the defeat against Barca but appeared off the pace having been rushed back after injury had kept him out pre-season.
Sevilla (4-4-2):
Javi Varas; Caceres, Spahic, Escude, Navarro; Jesus Navas, Medel, Trochowski, Perotti; Kanoute, Negredo
Sevilla’s midfield is overly stretched at present, and much hinges on the recovery of central midfielders Gary Medel and Tiberio Guarente.
Medel suffered a tear to his hamstring and was a doubt for the trip to Villarreal but he participated in a full-training session on Thursday making himself available for Saturday’s game. Whilst Guarente is continuing to recover from a long-term knee injury but is expected to feature at some point having trained during the week.
There were doubts over strikers Manu del Moral (virus) and Frederic Kanoute (knee) but both have been declared fit, as has long-term absentee Ivan Ratikic (metatarsal) who is likely to be named amongst the substitutes.
DID YOU KNOW?
Villarreal have beaten Sevilla at El Madrigal three times in the last five meetings, losing one and drawing one.
In seven of the last ten matches between Villarreal and Sevilla, one of the two teams have kept a clean sheet.
The Yellow Submarines had the third best home record last season, behind only Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Since 2006, when neither side have managed to keep a clean sheet, 3-2 has been the end result. It has happened three times, with Sevilla winning on two of those occasions.
Sevilla finished seventh last season with 58 points, level with Atletico Madrid and Atletic Bilbao who finished above the Andalucians due a superior head-to-head record.
Alvaro Negredo scored two goals against Malaga in Sevilla’s opening match, and repeated the feat in Spains' Euro 2012 Qualifier against Liechtenstein which saw la Roja qualify for the finals in Poland & Ukraine.
Sevilla last managed to beat Villarreal at El Madrigal in 2008/09 with a 2-0 victory; Luis Fabiano and Frederic Kanoute secured the three points on that occasion with second-half strikes.
If Sevilla beat Villarreal, it will be the first time that they have won their opening two games in la Liga since the 2007/08 season.
Prediction
Home advantage will be key for the Yellow Submarines as two of the teams that will be vying it out for the European places meet. Expect a tight context but the combination of Rossi and Nilmar should be enough for Villarreal.
Editor's Prediction
Villarreal 2-1 Sevilla 
