Leicester City will open their preparations for their 2024-25 Premier League campaign with a pre-season friendly against La Liga outfit Villarreal on Saturday afternoon.
The Foxes won last season's Championship to secure a return to England's top flight for the coming campaign, while an underwhelming 2023-24 La Liga season saw Villarreal finish down in eighth position.
Match preview
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Villarreal will not have European football during the 2024-25 campaign, as a disappointing 2023-24 season saw them finish in eighth position in Spain's top flight, which proved to be their lowest spot since 2019.
Marcelino's side were much improved in the second half of the season, but a poor first half really cost them, and the Yellow Submarine will be expecting to challenge for the top six during the coming campaign.
Villarreal will play six friendlies this summer, taking on Sion, Saint-Etienne, Nottingham Forest, Borussia Dortmund and Brighton & Hove Albion in their five matches after this one, before opening their new La Liga campaign at home to Atletico Madrid on August 19.
The Yellow Submarine have made four signings this summer, with the biggest of those proving to be Willy Kambwala, with the centre-back arriving at the club from Manchester United.
A number of players, including Pepe Reina, Alberto Moreno, Etienne Capoue and Francis Coquelin, have been released on free transfers, meanwhile, so there will be a fresh look to their squad next term.
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Leicester, meanwhile, secured a return to the Premier League for the 2024-25 campaign courtesy of their Championship success last term, finishing top of the second tier, one point ahead of second-placed Ipswich Town and seven clear of Leeds United in third.
Enzo Maresca oversaw the promotion, but the 44-year-old has since taken charge of Chelsea, with Steve Cooper set to lead the Foxes into the new campaign.
Leicester have five friendlies in the diary, taking on Shrewsbury Town, Palermo, Augsburg and Lens before beginning their new Premier League campaign at home to Tottenham Hotspur on August 19.
The Foxes have made four signings so far this summer, including Abdul Fatawu, who has arrived on a permanent basis from Sporting Lisbon after a successful loan spell last term, managing seven goals and 13 assists in 43 appearances in all competitions.
Meanwhile, their biggest departure has been Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, with the 25-year-old following Maresca to Chelsea; Kelechi Iheanacho, Dennis Praet and Marc Albrighton were also released, but Wilfred Ndidi has signed a new three-year contract at the King Power Stadium.
Team News
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Villarreal will be without the services of Alex Baena for this match, as the 22-year-old was involved in the Spain squad at Euro 2024 and is also competing at the Paris Olympics.
Head coach Marcelino will otherwise have a strong squad to choose from, including Gerard Moreno, who was not selected in the La Roja squad for the European Championship.
Kambwala is expected to make his debut for the Yellow Submarine in the heart of their defence, while Alexander Sorloth, who scored 23 La Liga goals last season, is likely to lead the line.
As for Leicester, there should be an official debut for Fatawu, while Caleb Okoli, Michael Golding and Bobby De Cordova-Reid are expected to make their first appearances for the club.
Head coach Cooper will want to have a good look at his squad during pre-season, so it is likely that different XIs will take to the field for each half of Saturday's pre-season friendly.
Jamie Vardy is preparing for a return to Premier League football at the age of 37, and the Englishman is expected to be in the starting Leicester XI for this contest.
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Jorgensen; Foyth, Mandi, Kambwala, Mojica; Comesana, Suarez, Parejo; G Moreno, Sorloth, Akhomach
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Ward; Justin, Souttar, Coady, Okoli; Ndidi, Soumare, Winks; Mavididi, Vardy, Fatawu
We say: Villarreal 2-2 Leicester City
This should be an open and entertaining match, as both teams will be able to call upon some exciting attacking players. Leicester's players will be bidding to impress their new manager, but Villarreal have a lot of quality, so we are finding it difficult to back a defeat for the Yellow Submarine.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Leicester City win with a probability of 44.37%. A win for Villarreal had a probability of 32.26% and a draw had a probability of 23.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Leicester City win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.05%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (7.33%) and 0-2 (6.3%). The likeliest Villarreal win was 2-1 (7.56%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.52%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-2 win for Leicester City in this match.
Matt Law
