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Villarreal welcome Turkish Süper Lig side Sivasspor in their UEFA Europa League group stage fixture to the Estadio de la Cerámica, scheduled to take place on Thursday night.
Villarreal have started their La Liga campaign on a great note and are currently second in the standings with three wins in six games. Sivasspor, on the other hand, find themselves seventh in the Süper Lig after four games.
The Yellow Submarine are undefeated at home this season and will be hoping to continue their unbeaten run against Sivasspor in their opening fixture in the Europa League.
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Villarreal vs Sivasspor Head-to-Head
This mid-week clash will be the first-ever meeting between the two sides. In terms of current form, both have similar outcomes from their last four games.
Villarreal form guide: W-D-W-L-W
Sivasspor form guide: W-D-W-L-L
Villarreal vs Sivasspor Team News
Villarreal suffered an injury blow in their 2-1 win over Valencia in their previous La Liga fixture, as former Los Che midfielder Dani Parejo picked up a groin injury and is ruled out for the Europa League fixture.
Manager Unai Emery will also be without Pervis Estupiñán, Alberto Moreno, and Ramiro Guerra on account of injuries while Sofian Chakla is in self-isolation after a positive COVID-19 test result last week. Gerard Moreno had to return from Spain's national team camp last week after a hamstring issue and could miss the game.
New signing, Juan Foyth, who has joined the club on loan from Tottenham could be given a start while another on-loan star, Takefusa Kubo, picked up a red card against Valencia and will be suspended for their next La Liga game. The Real Madrid player is therefore expected to play the full 90 minutes against Sivasspor.
Injured: Pervis Estupiñán (hamstring), Daniel Parejo (muscle), Alberto Moreno (knee), Ramiro Guerra (knee), Gerrard Moreno (hamstring), Sofian Chakla (COVID-19)
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Sivasspor have a shorter injury list in comparison to Villarreal and will be without a couple of players in Aaron Appindangoye and Serhiy Rybalka. Appindangoye has resumed individual training but it will take him at least another week before he's fully match-fit.
Injured: Aaron Appindangoye (ankle), Serhiy Rybalka (undisclosed)
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Villarreal vs Sivasspor Predicted XI
Villarreal predicted XI (4-1-4-1): Sergio Asenjo; Jaume Costa, Pau Torres, Raul Albiol, Mario Gaspar; Vicente Iborra; Moi Gomez, Manu Trigueros, Takefusa Kubo, Samuel Chukwueze; Paco Alcacer
Sivasspor predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Mamadou Samassa; Marcelo Goiano, Caner Osmanpaşa, Samba Camara, Ziya Erdal; Isaac Cofie, Hakan Arslan; Erdogan Yesilyurt, Fayçal Fajr, Max-Alain Gradel; Mustapha Yatabaré
Villarreal vs Sivasspor Prediction
Villarreal have managed to churn out good performances despite a few injury concerns this season and are in great form at the moment. They have a few key players out for the game but in-form striker Paco Alcacer will be their biggest threat and he is expected to start. He can cause problems for Sivasspor's defence.
We predict a narrow victory for the home side who have not lost a competitive fixture at the Estadio de la Cerámica since July.
Prediction: Villarreal 2-0 Sivasspor
