Villarreal Visit King Power Stadium - Profiling The Yellow Submarine
As Saturday’s Community Shield and the start of the 2021/22 Premier League campaign draws closer, the Foxes will conclude their preparations by taking on Villarreal in front of the Blue Army.
Tickets remain on general sale for the fixture, which will provide an opportunity to see Brendan Rodgers’ side in action on home turf ahead of the new season, and a first visit to the stadium for El Submarino Amarillo.
Before the game gets underway, LCFC.com provides the lowdown on the UEFA Europa League holders…
The story of 2020/21
Villarreal finished seventh in La Liga last term, but their best achievement of the campaign was lifting the UEFA Europa League trophy in Gdańsk after beating Manchester United 11-10 on penalties in the final on 26 May, 2021.
It was the first major honour for a club that only made their La Liga debut in 1998 and played in the lower divisions of Spanish football for many years following their formation in 1923.
The Yellow Submarine, nicknamed due to their famous yellow home kit, has raised its profile significantly over recent decades to become a well renowned name in Spanish and European football, culminating in their European triumph.
Villarreal’s tally of 58 points from their 38 league fixtures was three short of what was required to finish in the top six and meant they were set to miss out on European football in 2021/22, but will now compete in the UEFA Champions League this season.
The manager
Spanish coach Unai Emery has an impressive tally of 11 honours to his name across his managerial career, including four UEFA Europa League titles. The most recent of those came with current side Villarreal last season.
Previously plying his trade at Real Sociedad, Toledo and Lorca Deportivo, a knee injury forced his premature retirement from playing at the age of 32, leading to an early foray into coaching for the former midfielder, initially at Lorca.
Guiding Lorca to promotion earned him a job at Almería and the Spaniard soon helped the club rise to the top-flight for the first time in their history.
At Valencia, his side reached the UEFA Champions League three times, and with Sevilla, Emery’s attractive style of play continued to bear fruit as he won the Europa League three seasons running.
A further seven trophies arrived during his time at Paris Saint-Germain, ahead of replacing Arsène Wenger at Arsenal, his first role in England.
In July 2020, he began his stint with Villarreal and the 49-year-old has since broken a club record for consecutive unbeaten matches.
The stats
Forward Gerard Moreno top-scored for Villarreal last season, netting 30 goals in 45 matches in all formats, including 23 in La Liga. A further 10 assists placed the Spanish international striker at the top of the assists chart, too.
Meanwhile, Dani Parejo (7) and Manu Trigueros (8) also contributed to setting up several goals across the season, impressing in midfield in the absence of former City player, Vicente Iborra, who missed the final months of the campaign through injury.
The fixtures
After visiting Filbert Way, Emery’s men will face Leeds United in their final pre-season friendly on Saturday 7 August (7pm kick-off) before the UEFA Super Cup clash with Champions League winners Chelsea at Windsor Park in Belfast on Wednesday 11 August (8pm kick-off).
Commencing their La Liga campaign with a home fixture against Granada at the 23,500 capacity Estadio de la Cerámica five days later, they then travel to Espanyol and Atlético Madrid on successive weekends to complete their August schedule.
Alavés (H), Mallorca (A), Elche (H) and Real Madrid (A) await during the month of September for the reigning Europa League champions.
The signings
Over the summer, Argentine centre-back Juan Foyth made his loan move from Tottenham Hotspur a permanent one for a reported £13.5M, while midfielder Manu Morlanes returned from his loan spell at one of Emery’s former clubs, Almería.
There was further action in the transfer market with forward Boulaye Dia swapping Stade Reims in Ligue 1 for Villarreal and defender Aïssa Mandi recruited on a free transfer following his time at Real Betis.
Several departures were also announced as the club received transfer fees for defenders Ramiro Funes Mori, Enric Franquesa and Miguleón, as well as forward Mario González, while Jaume Costa and Carlos Bacca left at the end of their contracts.
All times BST.