Villarreal vs Osasuna

Estadio de la Ceramica sets the stage for a high-stakes La Liga fixture between Villarreal and Osasuna.

Despite enjoying their best La Liga season by points in eight years, Villarreal cannot afford to rest on their laurels, with their pursuit of Champions League football for the first time since 2021 still in the balance. Marcelino Garcia Toral’s side narrowly beat Espanyol last weekend (1-0) to leapfrog Real Betis in fifth in the league standings. That result marked their first home win in five (D3, L1) while also delivering just their fifth clean sheet of the league campaign. As a result, El Submarino Amarillo can post consecutive La Liga victories for only the first time in almost three months. Indeed, an inconsistent run of just three wins from eight (D2, L3) has seen their cushion over 6th shrink to one point pre-round.

In the meantime, visiting Osasuna will be eager to derail Villarreal’s top-five push as they chase European ambitions of their own. The visitors currently sit in a UEFA Conference League spot after edging Sevilla 1-0 last Thursday, having strung together three consecutive league wins for the first time since October 2021. That upturn is all the more impressive given Vicente Moreno’s men had managed just one win in 18 La Liga outings prior (D11, L6). Their tally of 14 draws this term is the highest in the division. However, while Los Rojillos’ resilience is evident, they’ve yet to overturn a 1-0 deficit into victory in league action this season (D7, L6).