Recommended bets
Espanyol won their last visit to Estadio de la Cerámica in 2020 but were winless in five visits before then. Villarreal are currently enjoying their best run of La Liga form since January 2018.
Villarreal to win is 1/2.
Villarreal to win and both teams to score NO is 7/5.
Arnaut Danjuma Groeneveld has scored 12 goals since moving to Spain in the summer. He is 3/1 to break the deadlock and 5/4 to add to his tally.
Match preview
Will Villarreal's excellent form continue?
Last weekend, el Submarino Amarillo hammered Granada 4-1 away from home with Arnaut Danjuma Groeneveld bagging a hat-trick, featuring two penalties.
This means Unai Emery's men have taken 23 points from the last 30 available, only suffering a surprise lose to Elche since 4 December.
So, in this time, they've climbed from 13th up to sixth and start the weekend just three points below the Champions League places.
On Tuesday night, Villarreal were in Champions League round of 16 action for the first time since 2009, hosting Juventus.
Despite falling behind after just 33 seconds, Dani Parejo's second half equaliser meant it finished 1-1, leaving the tie finely poised going into the return meeting in Turin.
Here, will their excellent form continue?
Espanyol meanwhile have proved to be tough opponents in recent weeks, even if wins are proving hard to come by.
In their last two, Blanquiazules have held Barcelona and then Sevilla to draws at RCDE Stadium with Sergi Darder equalising in the latter.
However, Vicente Moreno's side are winless since beating Valencia on New Years' Eve, accumulating just three points from six outings.
This means the Catalan club have dropped from 11th to 14th, so a solid mid-table finish appears to be on the cards for the newly-promoted club.
Will there be a winner at Estadio de la Cerámica?
Villarreal team news
Unai Emery is without Mario Gasper, Rubén Peña, Francis Coquelin, Gerard Moreno Paco Alcácer due to injury.
In general though, the XI is settled, featuring Étienne Capoue and midweek goalscorer Dani Parejo at the base of midfield.
Arnaut Danjuma, surprisingly, led the line on Tuesday in the absence of Gerard and Alcácer.
However, Boulaye Dia could return here with Danjuma back out-wide.
Espanyol team news
Vicente Moreno's side will continue in their 4-1-4-1 shape.
Sergi Darder, who's scored in their last two, is looking to score in three consecutive La Liga games for the first time in his career.
The usual goalscorer though is Raúl de Tomás who has scored 13 of their 30 La Liga goals this season, 43.3%.
La Liga table:
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