Our combined Yellows U23 squad will face Benfica this Wednesday at 8pm CEST
A combined Villarreal CF U23 squad will kick off their participation in the ‘Premier League International Cup’ this Wednesday, which will be the Yellow Submarine’s fourth consecutive year in this competition. Javi Calleja’s side will play in this prestigious tournament over the course of the season with hopes of going very far. In fact, just two seasons ago, Villarreal lifted the trophy as they beat PSV Eindhoven in the final.
In this year’s edition, Villarreal’s first opponent is SL Benfica and the Yellows will face the Portuguese side this Wednesday at 8pm CEST (7pm BST) at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre (Brighton and Hove Albion’s Training Ground).
The objective of the U23 Premier League International Cup is to encourage and enrich youth football on British soil by providing a superior training experience with the inclusion of teams from the strongest European leagues. The Premier League has chosen 12 English teams and 12 European clubs, with a distinguished Reserve team tradition, to participate and among those is Villarreal CF.
List of players travelling to England:
- Goalkeepers: Josele and Vicent Bellmunt.
- Defenders: Franquesa, Ramón Bueno, Juan ‘Ibiza’, Roger Riera, Quintillà, Migue and Genís,
- Midfielders: Lozano, Imanol, Morlanes, Pedrito, Raba and Cedrés.
- Strikers: Dalmau, Darío, Simón and Franco Acosta.
Travel Plan
The Yellows will set off this afternoon at 4pm from Valencia Airport to Londo Gatwick. The return flight will leave on Thursday 21st September with approximate arrival at Valencia Airport at 4pm.
On this occasion, Villarreal U23 have been drawn into Group F of the competition alongside SL Benfica, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.
The groups for the 2017/18 competition are:
- Group A: Sparta Praha, Liverpool, Newcastle United and PSV Eindhoven.
- Group B: Hertha BSC, Legia Warsaw, Leicester City and Sunderland.
- Group C: Derby County, GNK Dinamo Zagreb, Everton and VfL Wolfsburg.
- Group D: Athletic Club Bilbao, Celtic FC, Manchester United and Swansea City.
- Group E: Arsenal, FC Bayern Munich, FC Porto and Reading.
- Group F: Villarreal CF, SL Benfica, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.
The Yellows fixtures in Group F are as follows (time in Spain):
- Wednesday 20th September: Villarreal U23–SL Benfica U23 (8pm CEST, American Express Elite Football Performance Centre).
- Wednesday 4th October: West Ham United U23-Villarreal U23 (8pm CEST, Dagenham & Redbridge).
- Tuesday 14th November: Tottenham Hotspur U23-Villarreal U23 (8pm CEST, Stevenage FC).
