On Saturday evening, Villarreal will attempt to get the new La Liga season off to a positive start when they travel to Real Valladolid at the Estadio Municipal José Zorrilla and continue their impressive pre-season which has seen the visitors unbeaten in eight warm-up matches, picking up six wins in the process.
Last season, the Yellow Submarine finished 7th place in La Liga, three points behind 6th-placed Real Sociedad, while Valladolid finished runners-up in La Liga 2 and secured promotion.
💭 #RealValladolidVillarreal 💭 pic.twitter.com/ZzlDVrWT0n— Real Valladolid C.F. (@realvalladolid) August 9, 2022
💭 #RealValladolidVillarreal 💭 pic.twitter.com/ZzlDVrWT0n
As for Real Valladolid, the hosts spent three straight seasons in Spain's top flight between 2018 and 2021, and managed to return to the top level after dropping to La Liga 2, but quickly bounced back into the domestic top flight at the first time of asking last term.
Although Pacheta's side are likely to be up against it this season, they have made some shrewd signings in the off-season, signing Gonzalo Plata, Monchu, Ivan Sanchez, Sergio Asenjo, and Sergio Escudero amongst various comings and goings in the transfer market.
Last season’s top scorer for Real Valladolid, Shon Weissman (20 goals last term) will be absent due to a hamstring injury and this could be a big blow for the hosts who are otherwise in good shape for this weekend's match.
Although Villarreal reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, they finished 7th place in La Liga, which has to be considered a disappointment given their quality.
Villarreal have had a quiet summer in terms of signings, but nevertheless, manager, Unai Emery, has brought in the likes of Kiko Femenia, Jose Luis Morales and Pepe Reina arriving, while Moi Gomez, Asenjo, Mario Gaspar and Vicente Iborra have departed the club.
The visitors’ results away from home picked up towards the end of last season though as the Yellow Submarine won three out of their last four games on the road, capturing victories at Getafe 2-1, trouncing Rayo Vallecano 5-1 and most impressive of all, a 2-0 win at Barcelona.
Having picked up 23 points on their travels in La Liga in last season’s campaign, Emery's side will certainly be looking to challenge for a top-six spot this time around and will be keen to assert their authority at Real Valladolid on Saturday evening.
Midfielder Trigueros and defender Moreno are expected to be absent but otherwise, Emery has a fully-fit squad to choose from.
Villarreal are unbeaten in their last five meetings against Valladolid and the visitors are expected to come out on top again this weekend.