Villarreal take on Sporting Gijon at Estadio de la Ceramica on Friday in a match that has high stakes for both teams, even though they are at opposite ends of the league table. Villarreal won the reverse fixture 3-1 in December, but last season each side recorded a 2-0 victory in the direct match at home. Gijon have not won at Villarreal since 1999 and there have been no draws recorded in the last seven direct matches.
Villarreal can hope to make the top four in LaLiga again after this week's 1-0 victory at Atletico Madrid. They are currently five points behind fourth-placed Sevilla with four matches left in the season, so Villarreal should win all the remaining matches and hope their rivals slip up. Mateo Musacchio and Jaume Costa are suspended for this match after getting booked against Atletico.
Sporting Gijon are in a desperate situation, they are six points away from safety with four games left in the season, so if they don't win at least two of those matches they will get relegated. They need any point they can get at Villarreal, but they have not tasted victory in any of their last six matches. Moi Gomez is available again after suspension and should be given a place in the starting eleven.
Probable line-ups:
Villarreal: Fernandez - Mario, Gonzalez, Bonera, Angel - Santos, Trigueros, B. Soriano, R. Soriano - Soldado, Bakambu
Gijon: Cuellar - Douglas, Babin, Mere, Canella - Gomez, Vesga, Alvarez - Rodriguez, Cop, Burgui
My prediction: Villarreal to win 2-1.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Villarreal win - 1.40
Draw - 4.75
Gijon win - 8.00
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