Iñigo Pérez’s Yellow Submarine will kick off an exciting campaign against the Cantabrian side on their return to the top flight 14 years later
LALIGA EA Sports is back! Iñigo Pérez’s Villarreal CF begin their campaign this Sunday at 5.00pm at the historic El Sardinero stadium. The Yellows will be Real Racing Club’s first opponents following their return to the top flight 14 years later.
A contest with all the ingredients to be a true spectacle. Villarreal begin the competition more than ready after a brilliant and demanding pre-season in which they have faced major European sides such as SL Benfica, PSV Eindhoven, Como, RC Lens and Galatasaray, among others.
With strong results and an impressive level of performance, the Yellow Submarine have not only built up their competitive rhythm, but have also adapted to the new ideas of Iñigo Pérez, the team’s new captain at the helm. The former Rayo Vallecano coach has arrived at Villarreal with the excitement and ambition of surpassing the achievements he enjoyed in Madrid.
A highly recognisable squad
Unlike previous seasons, Villarreal CF begin the campaign having kept almost the entire group of players that secured a historic third-place finish in the 2025/26 season.
The signing of Péter Gulácsi to strengthen the goalkeeping department and the return of Carlos Romero after his loan spells at RCD Espanyol are the two main new faces in an established project that dreams of continuing to write golden chapters in the history of the Yellow Submarine.
Racing, an opponent fuelled by the excitement of returning to the top flight
After being crowned LALIGA Hypermotion champions, Real Racing Club de Santander secured their return to the highest level of Spanish football 14 years later. In 2012, just like Villarreal, the Cantabrian side were relegated to the Segunda División, although their paths differed significantly. While Villarreal returned to the top flight the following season, Racing embarked on a difficult journey of almost a decade and a half in the lower divisions.
Now they have left that challenging period behind and look forward with optimism and excitement to their long-awaited return to elite football. Their first match back in the top flight will come against Iñigo Pérez’s new-look Villarreal at El Sardinero.
Despite being a newly promoted side, José Alberto’s team is a compact unit featuring players of outstanding quality such as Gustavo Puerta, Iñigo Vicente, Asier Villalibre and Andrés Martín, who scored 23 goals last season.
They have also strengthened their squad with high-profile signings including Julen Agirrezabala (Athletic Club), Pedro Felipe (Juventus FC) and Sergio Canales, El Sardinero’s prodigal son, who left for Real Madrid at a young age and now returns home in the latter stages of his career following a successful spell in both Spanish and Mexican football.
The Copa del Rey as the most recent meeting
In recent times, the only previous meeting between the two sides came last season in the Copa del Rey Round of 32. In a single-leg tie at El Sardinero, the then leaders of the Segunda División surprised Villarreal in a tough knockout contest that ultimately went the hosts’ way. A brace from Yellow Submarine academy graduate Juan Carlos Arana brought an end to Villarreal’s participation in the cup competition.
