With UEFA Champions League qualification still just about in reach, Villarreal look to bounce back from consecutive defeats when they face relegation candidates Espanyol at La Ceramica in midweek.
After failling to repeat the European heroics they managed over the past two seasons under Unai Emery, and crashing out at the Last 16 stage of this year's Europa League to Anderlecht, the Yellow Submarine recovered very well with three consecutive league wins, including a 3-2 away victory at the Bernabeu.
However, since then Quique Setién has presided over back-to-back 2-1 defeats against bottom half sides Valladolid and Sevilla, and a gap is now emerging between Villarreal in 4th and Real Sociedad, who occupy that all important final Champions League spot in 4th.
Nonetheless, qualification for the UCL is not at all out of the question. Three points here in their game-in-hand over Espanyol would see the hosts move within five points of Sociedad with seven games to go. Either way, Villarreal will have to keep performing if they hope to hold off Athletic Club and Osasuna, who are gunning for their own Europa League place.
Expect Villarreal to bring their absolute best to this midweek contest, with Europe on the line one way or another.
Likewise, Espanyol have it all to do as they look to avoid dropping down to the second tier of Spanish football. It's been a tough season for Los Periquitos, a far cry from the heights of the Europa League knockout stages they enjopyed just a few years ago. A run of 7 games without a win has left them 19th in the table and enveloped in a relegation dogfight.
The good news for Espanyol coach Luis Garcia is that there are as many as five teams who are very much in the frame for relegation as we enter the business end of the season. Elche are dead and gone, Valladolid, Celta and Sevilla have likely done just enough, but the four sides above them - Cadiz, Getafe, Almeria and Valencia are right down there with them.
If Espanyol can put a run of results together, they can easily get themselves out of this mess.
Both coaches will be hoping for big performances, given the enormous stakes for both sides. Will this game represent the turnaround for Espanyol as they capitalise on a faltering Villarreal? Or will The Yellow Submarine return to normal service after a momentary blip and march on in search of Champions League qualification?
Well, looking at recent history, the edge would have to go to the hosts. Of the last six meetings between the two sides, Villarreal have won three, including a 5-1 demolition at La Ceramica last spring. Two of those games ended all square, and Espanyol have managed just one win in six against the Yellow Sub.
One factor which could work in the favour of the visitors is the growing injury list at Villarreal. The hosts will be without the crucial midfield presence of Francis Coquelin, among others, and may well be unable to field striker Gerard Moreno and defender Raul Albiol, both pivotal players for the team, with both facing late fitness tests ahead of the game.
Espanyol themselves will be without Brian Olivan, who is still out with a muscle problem, and Aleix Vidal, who is suspended.
It might surprise some readers who perhaps don't follow Villarreal that closely to learn that former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina is their man between the sticks these days. At 40-years-old, Reina came in to replace the very impressive Gerónimo Rulli , who joined Ajax in the summer, and with the hosts boasting one of the best defensive records in the league, he seems to be doing his job.
Expert Insight: Villarreal may have stumbled in their last two games but they possess far more quality than their opponents across the board. In front of a home crowd, expect them to assert themselves on the game aggressively, as they look to get an early foothold in what could prove a crucial game for both teams.