Real Betis vs Villarreal preview - Villarreal focused on survival

Cani insists Villarreal are primarily focused on ensuring they remain in the Primera Division despite an excellent start to the season.

The Yellow Submarine are unbeaten after six games and are fourth in the league table having beaten Espanyol 2-1 on Thursday.

Marcelino's side could even move up to third if they beat Real Betis on Sunday - should Atletico Madrid manage to beat city rivals Real a day earlier.

"We are in a better position than anyone would have expected," midfielder Cani told his club's website.

"But this great start should give us peace of mind about our objective, which is staying up, when we find ourselves in a difficult situation.

"We aren't thinking about bigger objectives, but if we end up achieving greater things, then we will."

The 32-year-old set up both of his team's goals against Espanyol, prompting coach Marcelino to call him "untouchable".

"It means a lot that my coach has praised me like that, but I don't think I am untouchable, there are players that could take my place," Cani said.

"We are playing well and we know exactly how we want to play.

"We've had and will have some games that are better than others because that's normal in football, but it's true that we know how to compete and we always do so right until the end."

Marcelino has a full squad to choose from for the trip to Seville, with the exception of Javier Farinos, who has not featured all season following surgery on his heel.

Betis coach Pepe Mel has not enjoyed such luck with either his team's results or his injury list.

Los Verdiblancos have only won one game all season and host Villarreal just three days after losing 2-1 at Athletic Bilbao.

Ruben Castro - Betis' top scorer last season - has still not fully recovered from a back injury which has meant he has only played 72 minutes of competitive football since August, while Juan Carlos Perez, Sergio Rodriguez and Eder Vilarchao are also out with injuries.

Alvaro Vadillo, who was rested for the trip to Bilbao, is expected to return to the starting line-up.