Villarreal will be hosting Atletico Madrid at the Estadio de la Ceramica on Sunday, with the visitors looking to make in back-to-back wins in La Liga.
Atletico Madrid are currently sitting fourth in the table, 14 points behind league leaders Real Madrid, while Villarreal are eighth in the table, four points off their opponents this weekend.
Villarreal were knocked off the Copa del Rey on Thursday through a 2-1 defeat at Sporting Gijon, but they are still fighting on two fronts this season, having qualified for the last-16 stage of the Champions League.
Unai Emery’s side have scored 10 goals in their last two league matches against Alaves and Levante, and their recent run of form has allowed them to move up to eighth spot in the table, just five points behind Real Betis in third.
The Yellow Submarine have not defeated Atletico in the league since March 2018, but the two teams played out a 2-2 draw in the reverse match at Wanda Metropolitano earlier this season.
Meanwhile, Atletico will head into this game off the back of a 5-0 victory over Rayo Majadahonda in the Copa del Rey on Thursday, which saw them progress to the last-16 stage of the competition.
They also managed to end a four-game losing run in La Liga last weekend by recording a 2-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano.
Atletico have a busy few weeks, facing Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup on January 13 before facing Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey.
They are not in the title race this season, but a top-four finish is the minimum requrement in the league, and they are just one point clear of fifth-placed Barcelona, who have recently started to put together a run of positive results in the La Liga.
Villarreal vs Atletico Madrid head to head
The two Spanish outfits have previously met on 41 occasions, where Villarreal are leading with 15 victories while Atletico have won 14, and they have drawn in 12. Villarreal have scored 52 goals and conceded 55. In their last five encounters, Atletico have won two and they have drawn in three.
Villarreal 0-0 Atletico Madrid 06/12/19
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Villarreal 23/02/20
Atletico Madrid 0-0 Villarreal 03/10/20
Villarreal 0-2 Atletico Madrid 28/02/21
Atletico Madrid 2-2 Villarreal 29/08/21
Villarreal latest home form
Villarreal have recently been on a good run of form, as they have won their last three matches at home, despite previously losing 3-1 to Barcelona. They had also lost 2-0 to Manchester United in the Champions League. In their last three matches, they have scored 12 goals and conceded 2.
Villarreal 0-2 Manchester United 23/11/21
Villarreal 1-3 Barcelona 27/11/21
Villarreal 2-0 Rayo Vallecano 12/12/21
Villarreal 5-2 Alaves 21/12/21
Villarreal 5-0 Levante 03/01/22
Villarreal latest away form
Villarreal lost their last away match 2-1 to Sporting Gijon in the Copa del Rey. However, they recently defeated Sanluqueno 7-1 in the Copa del Rel after having defeated Atalanta 3-2 in the Champions League. They have won three and lost two of their last five away matches.
Sevilla 1-0 Villarreal 04/12/21
Atalanta 2-3 Villarreal 09/12/21
Sanluqueno 1-7 Villarreal 15/12/21
Real Sociedad 1-3 Villarreal 18/12/21
Sporting Gijon 2-1 Villarreal 06/01/22
Atletico Madrid latest home form
Atletico won their last game at home, defeating Rayo Vallecano 2-0. However, they had lost two matches prior to that when they were defeated 2-1 by Mallorca in the league and 1-0 by AC Milan in the Champions Legaue. In their last five matches, they have won three and lost two.
Atletico Madrid 3-0 Real Betis 31/10/21
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Osasuna 20/11/21
Atletico Madrid 0-1 AC Milan 24/11/21
Atletico Madrid 1-2 Mallorca 04/12/21
Atletico Madrid 2-0 Rayo Vallecano 02/01/22
Atletico Madrid latest away form
Atletico won their last away match when they defeated Rayo Majadahonda 5-0 in the Copa del Rey. However, they lost in all their last three matches in the league. In their last five away matches, they have won two and lost three, having also defeated Porto 3-1 in the Champions League.
Porto 1-3 Atletico Madrid 07/12/21
Real Madrid 2-0 Atletico Madrid 12/12/21
Sevilla 2-1 Atletico Madrid 18/12/21
Granada 2-1 Atletico Madrid 22/12/21
Rayo Majadahonda 0-5 Atletico Madrid 06/01/22
Villarreal news
Villarreal will be missing a number of players including; Paco Alcacer, Ruben Pena and Francis Coquelin through injury, while Arnaut Danjuma remains a fitness doubt.
They will also be without Boulaye Dia, Serge Aurier, Aissa Mandi and Samuel Chukwueze who are with their respective countries to participate in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Atletico Madrid news
Luiz Suarez and Jose Gimenez are both suspended, which allows Antoine Greizmann and Mario Hermoso to be in line for starts, while Koke, Angel Correa and Sime Vrsaljko should come into the side.
Stefan Savic is still out with a thigh problem, while Marcos Llorente remains a doubt due to a muscular problem.
Prediction and Odd
Atletico enter the contest in need of back-to-back wins to boost their confidence following a difficult run of form, but Villarreal have recently recorded good results in the league.
With both teams missing some key players, we see the game possible ending level if Atletico would not manage to win.
Odds: 1 2.65 X 3.01 2 2.21
Probable outcomes
Villarreal 0-0 Atletico Madrid
Villarreal 1-1 Atletico Madrid
Villarreal 2-2 Atletico Madrid
Villarreal 1-2 Atletico Madrid
Villarreal 2-1 Atletico Madrid
