Aston Villa will continue their preparations for the upcoming Premier League campaign with a pre-season friendly against Spanish giants Valencia on Saturday evening.
Unai Emery's side will open their 2023-24 Premier League season away to Newcastle United on August 12, while Valencia will start their La Liga campaign away to Sevilla on August 11.
Match preview
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There is no getting away from the fact that it was a desperately disappointing 2022-23 campaign for Valencia, who finished 16th in Spain's top flight, only picking up 42 points from their 38 matches, which left them just two points outside of the relegation zone.
It was certainly too close for comfort last season, but Los Che will now be looking forward, and they have managed to boost their squad this summer with the arrivals of Cenk Ozkacar and Pepelu from Lyon and Levante respectively.
Valencia's pre-season form has also been impressive, winning each of their four matches, opening their preparations for the new campaign with a 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.
Ruben Baraja's side also beat Spartak Trnava and St Gallen before recording a 2-0 victory over Alaves on July 29, and this match will mark the end of their pre-season.
Indeed, Valencia will open their 2023-24 La Liga campaign away to Sevilla on August 11 before back-to-back home matches against Las Palmas and Osasuna to finish the month.
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Villa, meanwhile, have made three exciting signings this summer, bringing in Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen in a big-money deal, in addition to Pau Torres from Villarreal and Youri Tielemans on a free transfer following his release from Leicester City.
All three players have been linked with major European teams over the last year or so, but Villa look to be a side firmly moving in the right direction, and they will be aiming for European football during the 2023-24 campaign, having finished seventh in the Premier League last term to qualify for the Europa Conference League playoff round.
Emery's side have played four friendlies this summer, beginning their preparations for the new season with a 1-1 draw against Walsall on July 15.
Villa then played three matches in the Premier League Summer Series in the United States, beating Fulham 2-0 in addition to drawing 3-3 with both Newcastle United and Brentford.
The team are now preparing for their Premier League opener against Newcastle on August 12, and they have another friendly ahead of this match against Italian giants Lazio on Thursday night.
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Team News
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Valencia will again be without the services of Marcos de Sousa due to a long-term knee problem, but Los Che are otherwise in strong shape entering this contest.
Head coach Baraja is expected to select a strong side for the first whistle, but there will be changes throughout the contest, as players need minutes in their legs ahead of the new season.
Yunus Musah is unlikely to feature, with the 20-year-old preparing to make the move to AC Milan, but there could be a start for fellow youngster Javi Guerra, who is expected to be heavily involved for the Spanish giants during the 2023-24 campaign.
Villa boss Emery, meanwhile, will now have his eyes firmly on the start of the season, so his starting side for this match could well take to the field for their opener against Newcastle.
Diaby made it two goals in two matches with a strike against Brentford last time out, and the Frenchman should again feature in the final third of the field alongside Ollie Watkins.
Leon Bailey is also expected to come in for a start in this match, while Tielemans could operate in central midfield, potentially alongside Douglas Luiz and Boubacar Kamara.
Valencia possible starting lineup:
Mamardashvili; Correia, Diakhaby, Paulista, Gaya; Almeida, Pepelu; Castillejo, Guerra, Duro; Mari
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans, Luiz; Bailey, Watkins, Diaby
We say: Valencia 1-1 Aston Villa
Valencia's pre-season form has been excellent, and Villa will have wanted a big challenge at this stage of their preparations for the new campaign. We are expecting a tight match on Saturday and are finding it difficult to separate the two sides, who might have to settle for a share of the spoils.
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Matt Law
