After 24 years in the wilderness, Real Oviedo return to the Spanish top flight on Friday, with their first game in La Liga a tough one away against Villarreal.
The Yellow Submarine will see this as a great opportunity to make a positive start, following on from a fifth-place finish last term. That was enough to secure Champions League qualification, but two important players have left the Ceramica since then, with Alex Baena joining Atletico Madrid, while Thierno Barry has moved to Everton.
Marcelino’s side have warmed up for the new campaign with three friendlies against Premier League clubs. Those have delivered mixed results, with a 3-2 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates the highlight, although they could only draw with Leeds, and lost 2-0 to Aston Villa last time out.
As for Real Oviedo, they only secured promotion as recently as late June, with a comeback victory over Mirandes in the play-off final sparking jubilant scenes in Asturias. Their boss Veljko Paunovic was an Oviedo player when they were last relegated from the Primera Division in 2001, and he has a really tough job on his hands this season.
Oviedo start as the relegation favourites, and they’ve not looked great in pre-season, winning just one of their six matches.
How the bookies view it: Only one result expected
Villarreal are the huge favourites at 1/3 according to Boylesports. You can back the draw at 15/4, while Oviedo are priced at 7/1 to secure a surprise victory on their long-awaited return to the top flight.
Recent head-to-head: Sides meet again following goalless friendly
The clubs met in a friendly match only a fortnight ago which ended 0-0. You have to go all the way back to Oviedo’s last top-flight campaign for the most recent competitive meetings, which were both won by Villarreal in La Liga 2000/01.
Players to watch: Cardona a big threat on the left
While Villarreal will certainly miss Baena, they should still offer a creative threat on the left flank via full-back Sergi Cardona. He registered seven assists in La Liga last season, more than any other defender. He’s on offer at tempting odds of 7/1 to assist at least one goal in this match with William Hill.
Predicted Lineups
Last season’s top scorer Ayoze Perez is a major doubt for Villarreal. They are also missing defenders Willy Kambwala and Logan Costa to injuries.
Key centre-back David Costas is suspended for Real Oviedo. They are also missing Alvaro Lemos, Jaime Seoane and Lucas Ahijado to injuries.
Villarreal: Junior, Cardona, Marin, Foyth, Mourino, Yeremi, Comesana, Parejo, Pepe, G. Moreno, Eyong.
Real Oviedo: Escandell, Alhassane, Calvo, Luengo, Vidal, Sibo, Reina, Illic, Chaira, Rondon, Hassan.
Anything else catch the eye?
It’s hard to see where the goals are going to come from for Real Oviedo this season, with new signing Salomon Rondon likely to be feeding off scraps up top in tough games such as this one.
The Yellow Submarine should have much the better of this game, but their goal threat is also reduced given the departures of Baena and Barry, as well as the likely absence of Ayoze on the opening night.
Given that, backing under 2.5 goals at 10/11 with Boylesports could be worth considering, while Villarreal are priced at 1/1 to win the game to nil.
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