Villarreal’s late charge in La Liga for the Champions League continues with a trip to Celta Vigo on Sunday.
Three wins in their last four games have propelled Villarreal into the race for a top-four finish as victory over Celta will leave them just four points behind Atletico Madrid.
“We must be solid and strong at the back against a Celta side that play good football,” Coach Fran Escriba said at a Press conference.
“It’s an important game because they’re a direct rival for European qualification and a step towards our objective of playing in the Champions League.”
The Yellow Submarine have also been boosted by the absences of John Guidetti, Pione Sisto, Andreu Fontas and Jonny Castro from Celta’s squad.
The quartet have been spared due to the Galicians’ Europa League commitments, with the side 2-1 up on Krasnodar in the last 16 and a trip to Russia coming up.
Celta Vigo (probable): Sergio; Roncaglia, Cabral, Sergi Gomez; Planas, Radoja, Wass, Jozabed, Bongonda; Aspas, Rossi
Injuries/suspensions: Ruben (I), Pablo Hernandez (I)
Villarreal (probable): Andres; Mario, Ruiz, Musacchio, Costa; Jonathan, Trigueros, Bruno, Soriano; Soldado, Bakambu
Injuries/suspensions: Asenjo (I), Adrian (I), Cheryshev (I)
Referee: Melero Lopez
Form guide: Celta (L D D W L) Villarreal (W W L W D)
Previous meeting: Villarreal 5-0 Celta
Kick-off time: 17:30 GMT/18:30 CET