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Villarreal will meet Hajdukm Split at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia in the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League playoffs on Thursday.
The Spanish side secured direct qualification in the playoffs after securing a seventh-placed finish in the La Liga last season. They won the Europa League in 2021, thus securing promotion to the UEFA Champions League last season. They made it to the semi-finals where they suffered a 5-2 defeat on aggregate against Liverpool.
Hajduk Split began their qualifying campaign in the third round against Vitoria SC. Though they suffered a 1-0 defeat in the second leg, a 3-1 win in the home leg helped them eke out a 3-2 win on aggregate.
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Villarreal vs Hajduk Split Head-to-Head
This will be the first meeting between the two sides across all competitions. Villarreal have a superior European record and will be the favorites to secure a win at home in this fixture.
Villarreal form guide (all competitions): W
Hajduk Split form guide (all competitions): L-L-W-W-W
Villarreal vs Hajduk Split Team News
Villarreal
Alberto Moreno has been sidelined for at least another couple of months with a ligament injury, while Manu Trigueros has not played since fracturing his foot in a friendly game last month. New signing Kiko Femenía picked up an ankle injury last month and is not available for this game.
Étienne Capoue will serve a suspension carried forward from the Champions League last season.
Injured: Alberto Moreno, Manu Trigueros, Kiko Femenia.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: Étienne Capoue.
Unavailable: None.
Hajduk Split
There are no reported absentees for the Majstori s mora. The Croatian club need to field the strongest possible lineup here.
Injured: None.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.
Unavailable: None.
Villarreal vs Hajduk Split Predicted XIs
Villarreal (4-3-3): Geronimo Rulli (GK); Pau Torres, Raul Albiol, Jorge Cuenca, Aïssa Mandi; Dani Parejo, Francis Coquelin, Giovani Lo Celso; Samuel Chukwueze, Gerard Moreno, Arnaut Danjuma
Hajduk Split (4-4-2): Lovre Kalinic (GK); Stefan Simic, Dario Melnjak, Josip Elez, Dino Mikanovic; Lukas Grgic, Josip Vukovic, Filip Krovinovic, Emir Sahiti; Marko Livaja, Stipe Biuk.
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Villarreal vs Hajduk Split Prediction
The Yellow Submarine boasts a solid European record in recent years and have qualified for the knockout stage of UEFA competitions every single season, except the 2019-20 campaign.
Hajduk have lost two games in a row and might come up short in this fixture against the current La Liga leaders.
Prediction: Villarreal 2-1 Hajduk Split
