The opening night of the 2025/26 La Liga season is here on Friday night as Villarreal take on Real Oviedo at the Estadi de la Ceramica.

I've put together a double at evens on bet365, with a tenner returning £20 if both selections land.

• Real Oviedo have played out a goalless stalemate in three of their six pre-season matches

• Real Oviedo won just seven of their 21 away matches in La Liga 2 last season

• The newly-promoted side had an average of just 1.36 points per game on the road, compared to 2.18 at home

Villarreal will kick off their 25/26 campaign on home turf, welcoming newly-promoted Real Oviedo to the La Ceramica Stadium.

The hosts come in as heavy favourites, priced at 1.40 to win, while Oviedo are outsiders at 7.5.

🟡 The Yellow Submarine to Pick Up Where They Left Off

Villarreal ended last season in stunning fashion, stringing together six consecutive victories to secure 5th place in La Liga and a coveted Champions League spot. Only Spanish heavyweights Real Madrid and Barcelona managed to score more goals across the campaign than the Yellow Submarine - a testament to the attacking nature of Marcelino’s side.

Despite missing some key names from last season, Villarreal have plenty of attacking threat in their ranks, coming from the likes of Yeremy Pino, Nicolas Pepe, Sergi Cardona and Alberto Moleira - one of the standout players from the relegated Las Palmas side last season. 

Pre-season has been a mixed bag for the Yellow Submarine, with flashes of quality alongside moments that suggest there’s still fine-tuning to be done. Villarreal lost 2-0 against Aston Villa in their final pre-season outing, but did pull off a 3-2 win at the Emirates before that.

🔵 Visitors in Unfamiliar Territory

Real Oviedo are set to make their long-awaited return to the Spanish top flight, ending a 24-year absence since their relegation in the 2000/01 campaign. The club’s journey back has been anything but smooth, marked by financial turmoil that saw them plummet as far as the fourth division. Despite these hardships, Oviedo have rebuilt steadily, eventually regaining their place among Spain’s elite.

Last season, they finished 4th in La Liga 2, earning a playoff spot that would decide their fate. In a tense two-legged tie against Mirandes, Oviedo triumphed 3-2 on aggregate after extra time in the second leg. 40-year-old icon Santi Cazorla found the net from the penalty spot in the first half, underlining his class.

After racking up five goals and five assists last season, the Spaniard will supply veteran Salomon Rondon for the upcoming campaign, after the Venezuelan international completed a loan move to Spain from Pachuca.

📊 Villarreal v Real Oviedo H2H

Villarreal and Real Oviedo played out a goalless draw in pre-season, offering few clues ahead of their league clash.

Historically, Villarreal hold the upper hand, unbeaten in five competitive meetings with two wins. Both Teams to Score No has landed in four of those encounters.

Football Predictions at Andy's Bet Club

Andy's Bet Club is packed full of Expert Football Tips. We also have an easy-to-use Bet Builder Stats tool to help you conduct your own research. Look out for our European Football Predictions this season.

This Friday's coverage on ABC includes Liverpool v Bournemouth Bet Builder Tips, Girona v Rayo Vallecano Quick Tips, a Friday Euro Acca, and an Eerste Goals Acca - as well as Gem Bets.

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* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.

* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.