Villarreal and Real Betis have both made extremely positive starts to their La Liga campaigns and will hope to keep the pressure on top-two Barcelona and Real Madrid with victory here.
Match News and Current Form
Villarreal came into matchday nine in third place with 16 points, attributing their strong start to 2025/26 to what was the joint-best defence in La Liga, even despite conceding more than two goals in a game for the first time since April when they lost 3-1 away to Real Madrid earlier this month. They should still remain confident about remaining tough to break down at Estadio de la Cerámica, having gone unbeaten in their last 11 home encounters (W8, D3), thanks in part to six clean sheets along the way.
Betis are just one point behind Villarreal after winning their last three league matches, while they have been particularly eye-catching in attack by scoring at least twice in each of their last six games in all competitions. Manuel Pellegrini’s men are now gunning for three straight away wins as they look to go six games unbeaten on the road, a streak that hasn’t come easy given Betis have had to overcome early deficits in each of their last two such games. Considering no side to score first in a Betis away league game this season has gone on to win, the first goal here may not be as key as it typically would be.
Head-to-Head History
The last five H2Hs have been evenly matched with two two wins apiece and action packed with both teams scoring in all five. Encouragingly for Betis, all four of those victories have been for the away side of the day.
Hot Stats and Streaks
Ten of the last 11 goals in games featuring Villarreal were scored after half-time.
Villarreal won each of their last eight La Liga home games as a pre-match favourite.
The half-time result wasn't replicated at full-time in six of Betis’ last seven away league games.
Betis have conceded a pre-round league-high four La Liga goals this season inside the opening 15 minutes.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Villarreal centre-back Renato Veiga has never been on the losing side when scoring at senior level (W3, D2), with his last three goals all being headers. Abde Ezzalzouli has emerged victorious from 11 of the 14 games in which he has found the net for Betis (D2, L1) - the latest example being his match-winner in their 2-1 triumph over Espanyol.
After his red card against Madrid, Villarreal right-back Santiago Mouriño is suspended, while Georges Mikautadze is a doubt. Betis do not seem to have any fresh absentees.
For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre.
Betting Analysis
Picking a winner here is tough, so it may be safer to bet on over 2.5 total goals.
Author: Alex Bowmer