Villarreal vs Sevilla: Preview, team news, h2h, & more as Adams plots another rescue job

Villarreal vs Sevilla Preview: Two Nations, One Crucial Night in Castellon

Matchday 36 of La Liga brings Villarreal and Sevilla together at the Estadio de la Ceramica on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, a fixture that means very different things to each side with just three games of the season remaining.

Marcelino Garcia Toral’s Villarreal arrive riding six consecutive home wins in the league and holding a comfortable position in third place, with their Champions League berth for next season already all but rubber-stamped and their sights now set on closing out the campaign with the conviction of a side that has genuinely surprised the division this year.

Sevilla’s story is a far more turbulent one, and it is a tale that has had Nigeria’s Akor Adams right at the heart of it.

The 26-year-old striker came off the bench with 15 minutes remaining against Espanyol on Saturday evening and, with his side trailing in a match that had dropped them into the relegation zone, curled home a stunning 91st-minute winner to send the Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan wild and push Sevilla up to 13th in the table.

It was Adams’ ninth league goal of the season, a frankly remarkable tally for a player who had played only three minutes across Sevilla’s two games before that match, and it was the kind of moment that resets a dressing room just at the point in the season when three points can save a campaign.

Fellow Nigerian Chidera Ejuke was also involved at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan last weekend, lining up on the left wing in a Sevilla side that needed inspiration, and the 28-year-old winger brings an entirely different dimension to the visitors’ attack with his directness and pace on the flanks.

Ejuke arrived at Sevilla from Hertha BSC after a career that took him through Heerenveen in the Netherlands and CSKA Moscow in Russia, and while his 2025-26 campaign has been one of cameo appearances rather than sustained influence, he has registered one goal and one assist in 16 league outings and offers Luis Garcia Plaza options that could prove decisive at the Ceramica.

Between them, the two Nigerians represent Sevilla’s most dangerous attacking threat heading into a game they simply cannot afford to lose, and they go up against a Villarreal side that has the best home record in La Liga outside of Barcelona.

La Liga Matchday 36 Match Preview

Villarreal: Champions League-Bound and Flying at Home

Villarreal’s 2025-26 season has been a genuine success story, and the numbers back that up emphatically.

With 69 points from 35 games, the Yellow Submarine sit third in La Liga, six points clear of Atletico Madrid in fourth and well clear of any realistic threat to their Champions League qualification with only nine more points available.

Their home form has been nothing short of extraordinary, collecting 43 points from 17 home matches at a rate of 14 wins, one draw and two defeats, making them the joint second-best side in Spain on their own turf behind only an imperious Barcelona.

Those six consecutive home league wins have come with a combined goal return of 18 scored and just six conceded, which paints the picture of a side that simply does not give opponents a moment’s rest at the Ceramica.

Marcelino’s side have also been hugely productive in matches against teams from the bottom half of the table, registering 42 goals and conceding only 12 in their last 18 such contests.

The last six weeks of the campaign have not been entirely smooth sailing, with a 1-1 draw away at Mallorca last time out hinting that motivation might dip slightly given the league position is all but secured, though the wins over Celta Vigo (2-1) and Levante (5-1) in the two games before that suggest there is still a real desire to finish the season strongly.

Away from home the picture is more mixed, with Villarreal collecting seven wins, five draws and six defeats on their travels, though that becomes largely irrelevant on Wednesday given they are playing at their own ground.

Sevilla: A Season of Struggle, a Glimmer of Hope

Sevilla’s 2025-26 campaign has been one of the most difficult in recent memory for a club that had become so accustomed to European excellence.

The Nervionenses sit 13th with 40 points, and while they appear to have put a small buffer between themselves and the relegation zone after Adams’ winner last weekend, the situation remains precarious enough that a defeat here could see the nerves return.

The away record tells the bleakest part of the story: four wins, three draws and 10 losses in 17 away games, with just 19 goals scored and 32 conceded on the road.

Sevilla have lost their last three away matches while scoring fewer than one and a half goals in each, a run that makes their chances of taking anything from the Ceramica look slim on paper.

The managerial situation has added to the instability, with Luis Garcia Plaza only six games into his tenure at the club but already generating a positive response from the squad, as evidenced by the Espanyol comeback.

Garcia Plaza inherited a group of players who had endured a tough season under previous management but who clearly still have the character to fight, and the manner in which Sevilla refused to lie down against Espanyol suggests there is still competitive spirit in this dressing room.

The challenge for Sevilla now is translating that spirit into an away performance at one of the most difficult grounds in Spain.

Villarreal vs Sevilla: Head-to-Head Record

All-Time Record

Across all competitions, Villarreal and Sevilla have met 59 times since the 1997/98 season, with Sevilla historically holding the overall advantage, claiming 25 victories compared to Villarreal’s 17, with 17 encounters ending in draws.

In La Liga specifically, the two clubs have met 51 times, with Sevilla edging the head-to-head record there too: 21 wins to Villarreal’s 16, with 14 draws.

At the Estadio de la Ceramica in La Liga, however, the picture is considerably more balanced, and if anything leans towards the home side with 10 Villarreal wins in 29 meetings at this venue, compared to eight for Sevilla.

Recent Meetings

The more recent form in this fixture tilts heavily in Villarreal’s favour, with the Yellow Submarine winning four of the last five encounters between the sides in all competitions, with both teams finding the net in every one of those matches.

At the Ceramica in May 2024, Villarreal ran out 3-2 winners in a high-scoring encounter, and they went one better the following season in May 2025, hammering Sevilla 4-2 on the final day of the 2024-25 campaign at the same ground.

The reverse fixture earlier this season, played at Sevilla’s Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan on September 23, 2025, followed the same trend as Villarreal claimed a 2-1 victory away from home, extending their recent dominance over their Andalusian opponents.

The consistent theme across all five recent meetings is that both sides tend to score, which is a useful pattern to keep in mind when assessing the betting angles.

Team News

Villarreal: Outs and Doubts

Marcelino will be without winger and forward Ayoze Perez, who has picked up a knock that leaves him sidelined with no confirmed return date after featuring in the draw with Mallorca.

Long-term absentee Juan Foyth remains out with the cruciate knee injury he suffered earlier in the season, and is not expected to return until September.

Thomas Partey and Santi Comesana are both expected to retain their places in the centre of the park, with the pair combining well throughout the second half of the season.

Georges Mikautadze, Villarreal’s club-record signing and top scorer with nine league goals, is expected to lead the line and will be the main focal point of the Yellow Submarine’s attack.

Tajon Buchanan and Nicolas Pepe provide creativity and width, while Tani Oluwaseyi and Mikautadze are expected to form the front two in Marcelino’s 4-4-2 shape.

Interestingly, winger Alfon Gonzalez, who featured against Mallorca, is actually a player on loan to Villarreal from Sevilla, giving Wednesday’s fixture a slightly unusual subplot.

Sevilla: Outs and Doubts

Defender Marcao is a longer-term absentee with a foot problem, while defender Gabriel Suazo is expected to continue at left-back.

Akor Adams is virtually certain to start and carry the weight of Sevilla’s attacking ambitions on his shoulders following his match-winning heroics last weekend.

Chidera Ejuke is expected to continue on the left flank, bringing pace and creativity from wide areas that will test Villarreal’s defensive shape.

Nemanja Gudelj and Lucien Agoume are likely to continue as the engine room of Sevilla’s midfield, tasked with protecting a backline that has looked exposed on too many occasions away from home this season.

Predicted Starting XIs

The Managers

Marcelino Garcia Toral (Villarreal)

Few managers in Spanish football have built a reputation as a reliable, methodical operator quite like Marcelino Garcia Toral, and his work at Villarreal this season has been another reminder of exactly why clubs keep coming back to him.

The 60-year-old has overseen a campaign that has comfortably surpassed pre-season expectations, turning Villarreal into the third-best team in Spain with an attacking style that has produced 65 league goals in 35 games.

His ability to organise a compact, disciplined defensive structure while simultaneously allowing his forwards the freedom to express themselves has been the hallmark of this Villarreal team, and it is no coincidence that they have the best home record in the country outside of Barcelona.

Reports have emerged that Marcelino may be departing at the end of this season, with Rayo Vallecano’s Inigo Perez said to be lined up as his replacement, which means Wednesday’s fixture takes on a particular significance as one of potentially the last home matches of his tenure at the club.

Luis Garcia Plaza (Sevilla)

Luis Garcia Plaza is only six games into his role as Sevilla head coach, having taken over a club in genuine crisis and tasked with pulling them clear of the relegation places in the final weeks of the season.

His early returns have been encouraging, with two wins from his six matches in charge, and the way he handled the Espanyol game, throwing on Adams with 15 minutes remaining and trusting in the squad’s character, spoke well of his man-management instincts.

Plaza inherits a group that has lacked consistency and confidence for much of the campaign, but there are signs that a short-term stabilisation is underway, and his ability to organise a defensively solid Sevilla side will be tested to the limit against a Villarreal attack that has been in relentless form on home soil.

A result at the Ceramica would be a significant statement for Plaza and would go a long way towards establishing his authority ahead of whatever the summer brings for the club.

Tactical Preview: How the Sides Could Match Up

Villarreal’s Approach: Controlled Aggression

Marcelino tends to set Villarreal up in a 4-4-2 or a narrow 4-2-3-1 depending on the opposition, and against a Sevilla side that will be keen to sit back and frustrate, expect the Yellow Submarine to deploy their wider players high and early in a bid to stretch the visitors and create space for Mikautadze and Oluwaseyi centrally.

The double pivot of Partey and Comesana provides excellent defensive protection, which gives the full-backs, particularly the attack-minded Sergi Cardona on the left, the freedom to push forward and add numbers to attacks.

Their key weapon will be the pace and directness of Buchanan and Pepe on the flanks, both of whom can deliver into dangerous areas and are capable of beating their man in one-on-one situations.

Villarreal will look to build momentum through the first 20 minutes, knowing that a slow start in their last match against Mallorca was partly responsible for the 1-1 scoreline, and Marcelino is likely to demand a far more purposeful opening from his side.

Sevilla’s Approach: Compact, Counter, Capitalize

Garcia Plaza is unlikely to set Sevilla up to be adventurous at the Ceramica given the defensive fragility that has been exposed throughout the season, and a 4-3-3 or 4-5-1 defensive block that is well-organised and hard to break down seems the most sensible approach.

The key to any Sevilla plan will be minimising the influence of Mikautadze in the central areas, which means Gudelj and Agoume will need to be disciplined in their positioning and the centre-backs cannot afford to be pulled out of shape.

Going forward, Sevilla’s best hope lies in the pace of Adams and Ejuke on the break, exploiting any space Villarreal leave behind their advanced full-backs when they push forward.

Chidera Ejuke against Santiago Mourino at right-back could be one of the decisive individual battles in this match, with the Nigerian winger’s ability to carry the ball forward at pace a genuine threat to Villarreal’s defensive line.

Key Tactical Battleground

The central midfield battle will be critical: if Partey and Comesana can dominate possession and prevent Gudelj and Agoume from building any rhythm, Sevilla’s defensive structure will come under sustained pressure and the chances are Villarreal’s quality in the final third eventually tells.

Villarreal’s biggest vulnerability is the space behind their full-backs when they attack, and Sevilla’s best route back into the game, should they fall behind, will be exploiting that corridor through direct balls into Adams’ feet or over the top for Ejuke to run onto.