THE Spanish season kicked off on Saturday and Villarreal look well-placed to push for a top-four finish in La Liga this term.
Villarreal vs Huesca (17:30)
Villarreal showed signs of improvement towards the end of last season and they will be desperate to hit the ground running when they play host to newly-promoted Huesca on Sunday evening.
The Yellow Submarine surged to a fifth-placed finish last season but that was not enough to save boss Javier Calleja who was relieved of his duties, and he has since been replaced by Unai Emery.
The former Arsenal, PSG and Sevilla manager knows La Liga well and he appears to have made some astute additions to his squad in the shape of Dani Parejo, Francis Coquelin and highly-rated teenager Takefusa Kubo.
What's more, Emery has inherited a wealth of attacking talent including one of the deadliest strikers in the division in Gerard Moreno who notched an eye-catching 18 league goals in 35 appearances last season.
Villarreal's superior quality could overpower a Huesca side who did bounce back from relegation at the first time of asking, however, it's worth noting that Michel's men lost 11 of their 21 road trips in the second tier last term.
Indeed, an outright home success on Sunday looks a bit skinny at 8/15 with Bet 365, however, we can nudge the price up to a much-more enticing 20/23 (Bet 365) by backing the hosts to win and over one match goal when utilising the Bet Builder feature.
Each of the last eight La Liga fixtures at this venue have produced three or more goals and that coupled with Huesca's wretched road record has me attracted to the above-mentioned combination.
Emery and Co will be targeting a top-four berth this season and I suspect newly promoted Huesca could find the hosts too hot to handle in this Estadio de la Ceramica curtain-raiser.
Recommended Bet
Villarreal To Win & Over 1 Match Goal (20/23, Bet 365)
Freelance Sports Writer and Betting Analyst with over five years experience. I’ve written football and darts betting content for some of the biggest betting websites and newspapers in the UK. With a strong passion for the fascinating world of Scottish football, I also regularly feature in Nutmeg, the much-loved Scottish football magazine. Falkirk season ticket holder and avid watcher of football and darts, whether it be UK-based or further afield. Feel free to follow me on X @SlipsTips
