Villarreal will be bidding to start their 2022-23 La Liga campaign on a positive note when they make the trip to Real Valladolid on Saturday evening.
The Yellow Submarine finished seventh in La Liga last season, three points behind sixth-place Real Sociedad, while Valladolid secured a return to the top level by finishing second in the Segunda Division in 2021-22.
Match preview
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Valladolid spent three straight seasons in Spain's top flight between 2018 and 2021 before dropping down to the Segunda, but they managed to secure a return to the top level at the first time of asking.
A strong 2021-22 campaign led to the club picking up 81 points from their 42 Segunda Division fixtures, which saw them finish second in the table behind Almeria, ensuring that they would return to La Liga for this season.
Pacheta's side are going to be up against it this season, as they bid to consolidate at this level, but they have managed to make some smart signings this summer, bringing in Gonzalo Plata, Monchu, Ivan Sanchez, Sergio Asenjo and Sergio Escudero.
There have also been plenty of departures, so there will be a fresh look to the squad this season, and it will be fascinating to see how the club, who have legendary striker Ronaldo as a majority shareholder, perform on their return to the top level.
The White and Violets have had an unbeaten pre-season, which should have increased confidence, and they beat Italian giants Lazio on penalties in their final friendly of the summer last weekend.
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Villarreal, meanwhile, reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, but they finished seventh in La Liga, which has to go down as a disappointment considering their quality.
The Yellow Submarine were three points behind sixth-place Real Sociedad, so they also missed out on a spot in the Europa League, with the club instead battling to make the group stage of the Europa Conference League, with the first leg of their playoff clash set to take place next week against either Hajduk Split or Vitoria Guimaraes.
Unai Emery's side will play five competitive matches before the end of the month, including the second leg of their Europa Conference League playoff contest, in addition to league fixtures with Real Valladolid, Atletico Madrid and Getafe.
Villarreal have been relatively quiet this summer in terms of incomings, with only Kiko Femenia, Jose Luis Morales and Pepe Reina arriving to boost the squad, but a number of players, including Moi Gomez, Asenjo, Mario Gaspar and Vicente Iborra have moved on.
Emery's team will certainly be looking to challenge for a top-six spot in the table this season, and they picked up a respectable 23 points on their travels in the league last term, which should mean that confidence is high heading into their opening-weekend fixture.
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Team News
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Real Valladolid will be without the services of Shon Weissman due to a hamstring problem, but the home side are otherwise in good shape heading into this weekend's contest.
Head coach Pacheta is set to line his team up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Sergio Leon expected to lead the attack with support from new signing Plata and Toni Villa.
Monchu should be another debutant in midfield, while there is expected to be a first appearance for Asenjo between the sticks, with the 33-year-old set to face the club that he left earlier this summer.
As for Villarreal, there has been speculation surrounding a number of their players this summer, with Pau Torres, Yeremi Pino and Gerard Moreno among those to be linked with departures.
All three are likely to be in the starting side this weekend, though, and there should be a familiar look to the XI, with Etienne Capoue, Francis Coquelin and Dani Parejo set to feature as the midfield three.
New signings Reina, Morales and Femenia are unlikely to start but should be in the squad, while there could also be a spot in the final third of the field for Samuel Chukwueze.
Real Valladolid possible starting lineup:
Asenjo; Perez, Sanchez, El Yamiq, Escudero; Monchu, Perez, Suarez; Plata, Leon, Villa
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Foyth, Albiol, Torres, Pedraza; Parejo, Coquelin, Capoue; Chukwueze, G Moreno, Pino
We say: Real Valladolid 1-2 Villarreal
Games on the opening weekend of the new season are often difficult to predict, and it would certainly not be a surprise to see Valladolid win here. That said, Villarreal will be able to send the greater quality onto the field, and we are expecting the Yellow Submarine to have too much for their opponents on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
