Valladolid vs Villarreal Prediction: Unai Emery's team starts with a win

Last season's Champions League semi-finalist Villarreal will start the Spanish league with an away game against Valladolid. Will Unai Emery's side manage to win? We have a few bets to place at once.

The team from the city of the same name took just one season to return to the top flight of Spanish football. Last season, Valladolid finished second in the Segunda and even avoided the knockout phase by qualifying directly for La Liga.

José Rojo Martín, or simply Paquetá, who previously managed Elche and Huesca, leads the team from Valladolid. Among the acquisitions made by the club in the off-season is the experienced goalkeeper Sergio Asenho from Villarreal, attacking midfielder Gonzalo Plato from Sporting Lisbon, and Granada players - defender Sergio Escudero and midfielder Monchu. It should also be mentioned that Valladolid's owner is legendary Brazilian forward Ronaldo.

Unai Emery's side was excellent in the last Champions League, beating Juventus and Bayern and putting up a credible challenge against Liverpool in the semi-finals. However, Villarreal wasn't strong enough for the Spanish championship. The final 7th place will allow the Yellow Submarine to participate only in the Conference League.

Maybe that's a good thing. Villarreal could be surprised by climbing very high in La Liga without spending their energy on battling the giants of European football in the Liga. Emery's side has everything they need to be hugely successful heading into the league.

Villarreal's squad is well-balanced and doesn't need any significant changes. Pepe Reina of Lazio replaced Asenjo as the backup goalkeeper. The club also signed forward Morales from Levante and defender Kiko Femenía from Watford. Mario Gaspar, Fer Niño and Moisés Gómez have all left Villarreal.

Villarreal is the dark horse of the new national championship. The yellow team may be in contention, if not for first place, then certainly for the second. At the very least, Unai Emery's side must finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League. It is very likely that Villarreal will show their ambition as early as the first game and confidently beat the relegated Segunda side, Valladolid. The home side can expect to score, but Villarreal will still score more.

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