Villarreal will be aiming to make it three straight wins in all competitions when they welcome Espanyol to Estadio de la Ceramica on Friday night.

The Yellow Submarine are currently 10th in the La Liga table, picking up 12 points from their opening 10 matches of the season, while Espanyol are 18th in the division on eight points.

Match preview

Villarreal boast a record of three wins, three draws and four defeats from their opening 10 league matches of the season, with 12 points leaving them in 10th, five points behind sixth-placed Sevilla ahead of the next set of fixtures in Spain's top flight.

The Yellow Submarine suffered a 4-3 defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League on October 20, but they have since posted back-to-back domestic wins.

Inigo Perez's side recorded a 2-1 win over Valencia in La Liga last weekend, before posting a 5-0 victory over Manacor in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday night.

Villarreal finished third in Spain's top flight last season, but it will be difficult for them to repeat that this term, with Atletico Madrid and Real Betis both looking strong early in the campaign.

The Yellow Submarine have been victorious in each of their last seven matches against Espanyol - all of which have been in La Liga - while they are unbeaten against the Catalan outfit since a 2-1 home loss in January 2020.

Espanyol have only been victorious in 12 of their previous 56 matches against Villarreal in all competitions, and the visitors will certainly enter this game as the underdogs.

Incredibly, Espanyol were knocked out in the first round of the Copa del Rey by fourth-tier outfit Sestao on Tuesday, with the Catalan team suffering a 4-3 loss, and that result led to the dismissal of Manolo Gonzalez as head coach.

The White and Blues are therefore looking for a new manager, and there is no getting away from the fact that it has been a tough campaign to date, with eight points from 10 matches leaving them down in 18th position in the La Liga table.

Espanyol have lost five of their last six matches in all competitions, with their last victory coming away to Osasuna on September 12.

It is understood that Julen Lopetegui is an option to become the team's new head coach, but the 60-year-old has a contract with Qatar until February 2027.

Villarreal La Liga form:

Villarreal form (all competitions):

Espanyol La Liga form:

Espanyol form (all competitions):

Team News

Villarreal will be without the services of Pape Gueye through suspension, with the midfielder sent off in the team's last La Liga fixture with Valencia.

Carlos Romero and Nathan Saliba are both expected to miss out through injury, while Ilias Akhomach faces a late fitness test, having been forced off against Valencia.

Georges Mikautadze is Villarreal's leading goalscorer this season with five, and there is set to be a spot in the final third of the field for the 25-year-old.

As for Espanyol, Kike Garcia and Jofre will miss the match through injury, but the Catalan outfit are otherwise in strong shape for the league fixture.

There will be changes to the side that started in the Copa del Rey, with Roberto Fernandez set to feature through the middle; the 24-year-old has scored six league goals this season.

Bryan Zaragoza and Exposito are also among those set to be introduced back into the team.

Villarreal possible starting lineup:

Gulacsi; Mourino, Foyth, Veiga, Freeman; Moleiro, Macia, Comesana, Buchanan; Mikautadze, Perez

Espanyol possible starting lineup:

Fortuno; El Hilali, Drkusic, Cabrera, Hartman; Exposito, Lozano; Hernandez, Calatrava, Zaragoza; Fernandez

We say: Villarreal 2-0 Espanyol

Villarreal have posted back-to-back wins, and we are expecting the Yellow Submarine to be too strong for their struggling opponents on Friday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.