Football Season Guide

Villarreal were dealt a blow early into last season when Unai Emery left them to move to the Premier League, but the appointment of Quique Setien actually saw the team move up from seventh to fifth in the table. The possession-loving tactician will now have a full pre-season with his squad. And, it’ll be quite a changed squad at Villarreal. They’ve lost several starters, such as Pau Torres, Nicholas Jackson and Samuel Chukwueze, but their recruitment has been stellar and the likes of Matteo Gabbia, Santi Comesana and Alexander Sorloth should all be able to contribute right away. Integrating the new players and replacing the departees will be the main challenge at Villarreal at the start of the new campaign, but Setien has experience of working with heavily changed squads in the past. The coach will hope to make Villarreal as comfortable in possession as they already were last season. Controlling games was their main strength. Their problem was finishing chances, but that had a lot to do with star striker Gerard Moreno having another injury-plagued season. If he is available then Villarreal should be a formidable force. If Gerard Moreno is missing for many games again, they could be hot and cold.