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Hajduk Split will invite Villarreal to the Stadion Poljud in the second leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League playoff fixture on Thursday.
The first leg tie in Spain last week ended in a 4-2 win for the then-hosts, thanks to first-half goals from José Luis Morales and Gerard Moreno. Marko Livaja's own goal also helped their cause.
Hajduk got the game off to a great start, with Stipe Biuk scoring in the second minute. Marco Fossati reduced the deficit to two goals after converting a penalty in the 86th minute.
Villarreal are on a roll at the moment and have not conceded a goal in their two La Liga games, thus occupying the top spot in the standings. They beat Atletico Madrid in their away game on Sunday, recording a 2-0 win.
Hajduk returned to winning ways as their HNL game against NK Lokomotiva ended in a 2-1 win on Sunday.
Hajduk Split vs Villarreal Head-to-Head
The two teams met for the first time last week. Villarreal made the most of their home advantage to secure a win and Hajduk will be looking to return the favor here.
Hajduk Split form guide (all competitions): W-L-L-L-W
Villarreal form guide (all competitions): W-W-W
Hajduk Split vs Villarreal Team News
Hajduk Split
There are no reported absentees for the Majstori s mora. The Croatian club might make a few changes to the starting XI from the first leg.
Injured: None.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.
Unavailable: None.
Villarreal
Kiko Femenía is back from an injury spell and Étienne Capoue served a one-game suspension in the first leg. Alberto Moreno and Manu Trigueros are the only absentees for the visitors with their respective injuries.
Injured: Alberto Moreno, Manu Trigueros.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.
Unavailable: None.
Hajduk Split vs Villarreal Predicted XIs
Hajduk Split (4-4-2): Lovre Kalinic (GK); Stefan Simic, Dario Melnjak, Josip Elez, Dino Mikanovic; Lukas Grgic, Josip Vukovic, Filip Krovinovic, Emir Sahiti; Marko Livaja, Stipe Biuk.
Villarreal (4-4-2): Geronimo Rulli (GK); Pau Torres, Raul Albiol, Jorge Cuenca, Alfonso Pedraza; Dani Parejo, Francis Coquelin, Giovani Lo Celso, Étienne Capoue; Gerard Moreno, José Luis Morales
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Hajduk Split vs Villarreal Prediction
Hajduk are expected to put up a fight in this game as they are undefeated in their home games across all competitions and recorded a 3-1 win in their previous home game in the qualifying campaign against Vitoria.
Nonetheless, Villarreal have kicked off their season on a positive note and a loss seems like an unlikely outcome for them. A draw would suffice for their qualification into the group stage, so they are expected to play for the same.
Prediction: Hajduk Split 2-2 Villarreal
