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2025-26 Spanish La Liga
Matchday 9
Villarreal v Real Betis
Estadio de la Ceramica
Villarreal, Spain
Saturday, 18 October 2025
Kick-off is at 18h30
Villarreal will be looking to bounce back from only their second defeat of the season when they welcome fellow top-four contenders Real Betis to La Ceramica on Saturday, October 18.
The Yellow Submarine have made a strong start to the new campaign, winning five of their opening eight matches to emerge as the closest challengers to Real Madrid and Barcelona.
But they missed out on the chance to go level with the Blaugrana after being beaten 3-1 by Los Blancos prior to the international break which arrested a run of three consecutive victories.
Marcelino's side are three points behind Barca, who saw their unbeaten start come to an end with a shock 4-1 loss to Sevilla on October 5, while Betis are breathing down their necks a further point back in fourth place.
Los Verdiblancos recorded their third win on the spin when they beat Espanyol 2-1 on October 5 to move into UEFA Champions League contention.
Manuel Pellegrini's side are now unbeaten in their last four outings since suffering their first loss of 2025-26 at the hands of Athletic Bilbao (2-1) on August 31.
The Andalusian outfit haven't conceded more than two goals in a match and they have the best defensive record in
La Liga alongside Villarreal, Alaves and Osasuna.
Marcelino expressed his frustration at Vinicius Junior's 47th-minute opener, but insisted the real turning point in the game was the controversial dismissal Santiago Mourino on 77 minutes.
"We wanted to start the second half with intensity and focus. Against a great opponent, this kind of situation can happen. It frustrated us to concede so early," the Spaniard said.
"If more minutes had passed, the match could have swung in our favour. The first goal was unlucky for us, but we recovered well. We were in the game and creating chances.
"The opponent didn't generate much either until everything changed, and then there was nothing we could do."
Head-to-Head (Last Five La Liga Meetings)
Matches - 5
Villarreal wins - 2
Real Betis wins - 2
Draws - 1
La Liga Matchday 9 fixtures:
Friday, October 17
21h00: Real Oviedo v Espanyol
Saturday, October 18
14h00: Sevilla v Real Mallorca
16h15: Barcelona v Girona
18h30: Villarreal v Real Betis
21h00: Atletico Madrid v Osasuna
Sunday, October 19
14h00: Elche v Athletic Bilbao
16h15: Celta Vigo v Real Sociedad
18h30: Levante v Rayo Vallecano
21h00: Getafe v Real Madrid
Monday, October 20
21h00: Alaves v Valencia
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