Sunday’s concluding fixture pits Champions League hopefuls Villarreal against Sevilla, a team who had such aspirations at the start of the season but who are struggling to live up to their billing as one of Spain’s top sides.
Under Juan Carlos Garrido, Villarreal have increased in strength, particularly at El Madrigal, where they have only failed to win a couple of matches since the former reserve team coach took over in the spring. The Yellow Submarine’s strength at home was further underlined in midweek, when they recorded a routine 3-0 victory over Dinamo Zagreb.
“We had time to grow into the match against Dinamo, and we had to get over the constant fouls,” Garrido explained after the match. “The most important thing is that we strived to get some fluency into the game, despite our opposition's aim to slow it down.”
Meanwhile, Giuseppe Rossi, who scored a brace against the Croats, has hinted at the potential this team has. “Villarreal have a strong enough team to go far, but we must keep our feet on the ground and stick with the hard work if things are to go that well,” he explained.
Already they have climbed into third spot in La Primera Division, and given the manner in which the Yellow Submarine are playing, it would be something of a surprise if they failed to finish in the top four come the spring.
Difficult Times
The honeymoon period is well and truly over for new Sevilla coach Gregorio Manzano, who has seen his team slide to a couple of disappointing defeats in the last week. At home against Mallorca in the league, los Nervionenses went down 3-1 against a team they would have expected to master, while the midweek performance against Paris Saint-Germain ended in an ugly 4-2 defeat.
A complete lack of defensive acumen was the striking feature of the loss at the Parc des Princes, which could have been even heavier had les Parisiens been more ruthless. Frederic Kanoute struck twice in the space of five first half minutes for the guests, but this was rare respite on a forgettable evening.
“We are very disappointed that we have conceded four goals in a game that was very difficult,” Julien Escude said. “We started well, with intensity, trying to take the lead, but in two minutes they have scored two goals, and that has done us damage.
“Yet we came back to tie, but the fourth goal has killed us. It is a pity because we went out to win and we didn’t want to wait until the last games to progress to the next round. We wanted to end our losing streak in the league.
“Now what we have to do is look forward. We know it’s complicated. We have to fix it through work.”
Sevilla are not yet in crisis, but Manzano, for all his five league wins and relative success in the Europa League, doesn’t have the club moving forward as quickly as he might like. The visit to Villarreal offers los Nervionenses the opportunity to quickly gain some momentum, though it’s more likely to end in further disappointment.
TEAM NEWS
Villarreal
Joan Capdevila is expected to be the only major absence for the home side, who will also be without Oriol due to injury. No fresh problems have been reported after the midweek clash against Dinamo Zagreb, in which the Yellow Submarine featured something of a fringe side.
Sevilla
There is still a significant list of injury problems in the Sevilla side, with the most notable problems Jesus Navas and Luis Fabiano. Federico Fazio, Ivica Dragutinovic and Tiberio Guarente are other troubling issues, while Javi Varas and Lautaro Acosta are also missing.
Prediction
Goals would seem to be on the cards for Sunday’s game, and given recent form Villarreal have to be hot favourites to pick up three points. With almost a full complement of players at the disposal of the home coach, don’t expect an upset at El Madrigal.
Villarreal 3-1 Sevilla 
