La Liga: First Impression Matters For Unai Emery

Villarreal vs SD Huesca

Newly-minted manager Unai Emery will make his coaching debut for Villarreal as they host Huesca in the opening matchday of the La Liga.

The Yellow Submarine aim to have a fast start to the 2020/21 season as an attempt to surpass what they’ve achieved last season.

The former Arsenal manager will lead a team that finished fifth along with a Europa League qualification berth. Emery will take over from the departing Javier Calleja who oversaw the majority of their campaign last term.

Villarreal have retooled their roster with some key acquisitions, but will it be enough to try and contend against the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid?

Various oddsmakers certainly don’t back them to do so. But a Champions League berth seems to be within reach and they’ll have all season to figure out the right formula.

Meanwhile, their visitors in Huesca will look to prove that they belong in the Spanish top-flight.

Huesca clawed their way to the league title in the Segunda division and they are keen on staying with the big boys for good.

Here is today’s match preview courtesy of SBOTOP.

Talking Points

The Yellow Submarine added reinforcements

Villarreal are aiming to punch above their weight as they enter into a new season.

The Yellow Submarine made drastic changes from all over as they brought in Unai Emery as manager while bringing in some key pieces.

Emery’s previous coaching stint didn’t go well at all. As team boss for Arsenal last year, the Spaniard simply couldn’t inspire his team to draw out enough meaningful results.

Which is why coming into Villarreal, Emery will be more than eager to remind everyone of his winning pedigree.

During the offseason, Villarreal were busy in the transfer market.

Dealing with the departures of Santi Cazorla and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Villarreal picked up influential playmakers in Dani Parejo via a free transfer, Francis Coquelin on a relatively cheap fee, and Takefusa Kubo on loan from Real Madrid.

Kubo, in particular, will be someone to look out for if you’re a follower of Villarreal.

Playing for the now-relegated RCD Mallorca last term, the Japanese international poured in four goals and four assists, plus some La Liga 2020 highlights.

Appearing in his first-ever game in a Villarreal uniform recently, Kubo made quite an impression versus Cartagena as he linked up pretty well with Paco Alcacer and Vicente Iborra.

Loaded on the attack, Villarreal are capable of pulling off upsets this season.

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La Liga

Can Huesca hang with the Spanish elite?

Huesca made their top-flight debut two years ago but they flamed out in the end. And now that they’re back, they are hopeful that they’ll be competitive against the big boys.

They somehow managed to earn promotion in the Segunda division last term despite suffering 14 losses in 42 games. In the end, Huesca won the championship with only one point separating them and Cadiz.

There aren’t much household names in their current lineup. But it’s certain that they’ll rely on Shinji Okazaki to pour in goals for them this season.

The former Premier League titlist is Huesca’s leading scorer last term with 12 goals. Okazaki knows a thing or two about winning at the highest level given his experience suiting up for Leicester City.

If Huesca can stay afloat in the top-flight division by season’s end, it should be considered a victory in itself already.

History

Since Huesca didn’t get much time playing in the Spanish top-flight division, fixtures between them and Villarreal have come few and far in between.

They have played in six total matches together, with Villarreal winning only twice while Huesca won once along with three draws.

The Yellow Submarine have been undefeated against Huesca in over five years.

Betting Tip

	Valencia vs Levante	Villarreal Asian Handicap -1.00 @ 2.03
	Sept 14, 03:00 (GMT+8)

Our updated La Liga 2020 odds heavily favour the home team to win. Villarreal are priced at 1.56, while Huesca are pegged at 5.60 and chances of a draw are placed at 4.00.

If checking for the tally, not much goals are expected in this game and it’s most likely that Villarreal will be the team that will score. Under 2.50 @ 1.77 seems plausible while Total Goal 2-3 @ 2.11 is good too.

Although a motivated Huesca club won’t be a walk in the park, Villarreal will likely have too much in the tank for their visitors to handle.

Emery’s side will be focused on claiming a top-four spot at the end of the season, and fixtures like these will surely help them on their campaign.