Villarreal will be bidding to record their second victory of the 2023-24 La Liga campaign when they travel to Cadiz on Friday night.
The away side will enter the contest off the back of a 4-3 defeat at home to Barcelona, while Cadiz played out a 1-1 draw with Almeria in their last match in Spain’s top flight.
Cadiz have made a solid start to their La Liga campaign, picking up four points from their opening three matches, which has left them in 10th position in the table.
Sergio Gonzalez’s side started their season with a 1-0 victory over Alaves before suffering a 2-0 defeat away to the champions Barcelona in their second match of the campaign.
Cadiz came incredibly close to returning to winning ways on home soil last time out, with Luis Hernandez sending them ahead against Alaves, but Kaiky came up with a 95th-minute leveller for the visitors, as the points were shared.
El Submarino Amarillo are in their fourth straight season at this level of football, which is their best run since the early 1990s, so it is certainly a successful period in their history.
Cadiz have been busy this summer in terms of incomings, while there have also been a number of departures, so there is a fresh look to what is a talented squad this season.
Villarreal, meanwhile, have made an underwhelming start to their 2023-24 campaign, only picking up three points from their opening three matches courtesy of a record of one win and two defeats.
Quique Setien’s side suffered a 2-1 loss to Real Betis in their first match of the new season on August 13 before recording a 1-0 victory over Mallorca five days later.
Villarreal will enter this match off the back of a defeat, though, having lost 4-3 to Barcelona in a seven-goal thriller on Sunday afternoon; the Yellow Submarine trailed 2-0 inside the opening 15 minutes before scoring three times without reply to take a 3-2 lead early in the second period.
Barcelona then levelled it at 3-3 in the 68th minute, before Robert Lewandowski came up with the winner for the Catalan outfit, with the result leaving Setien’s team in 13th spot in the table.
Villarreal finished fifth in Spain’s top flight last season, which will see them play in the 2023-24 Europa League, while it has been a busy transfer window, with Alexander Sorloth proving to be their biggest signing from RB Leipzig.
Cadiz will be unable to call upon Fede San Emeterio on Friday evening, with the Spaniard suspended due to the red card that he was handed in the draw with Alaves last time out.
Meanwhile, Jorge Mere, Sergi Guardiola, Victor Chust and Brian Ocampo are on the sidelines due to fitness issues.
There is a strong chance that head coach Sergio will select the same XI that took to the field for the first whistle against Alaves, although it would not be a surprise to see Maximiliano Gomez introduced in the final third.
Villarreal, meanwhile, will again be without the services of Alberto Moreno and Francis Coquelin through injury.
The Yellow Submarine have no fresh concerns from their defeat to Barcelona, and head coach Setien is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack.
There could be a change in the final third of the field, though, with Yeremy Pino set to be introduced, which would lead to a change of formation, with Etienne Capoue likely to be the player to drop down to the bench.
Cadiz possible starting lineup:
Ledesma; Carcelen, L Hernandez, Fali, J Hernandez; Alejo, Alcaraz, Escalante, Machis; Gomez, Roger
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Jorgensen; Foyth, Gabbia, Cuenca, Pedraza; Terrats, Parejo, Baena; G Moreno, Sorloth, Pino
We say: Cadiz 1-2 Villarreal
Villarreal will feel that they deserved more from their clash with Barcelona, and the Yellow Submarine will be looking to find some consistency at this stage of the season. We are expecting Friday’s game to be a tight affair but are backing Villarreal to navigate their way to an important win.
