La Liga Preview: Yellow Submarine’s Pérez in Red-Hot Form, Las Palmas Struggling for Wins

On October 1st at 3:00 AM, the 8th round of the 2024/25 La Liga season will see Villarreal hosting Las Palmas. This is the final match of this round, with Villarreal currently on 14 points and ranked 6th in the league, while Las Palmas sits at the bottom with only 3 points.

The “Yellow Submarine” has performed commendably this season, with their sole defeat being a 1-5 loss to Barcelona at home. However, Marcelino’s team bounced back in the next La Liga match, with Ayoze Pérez scoring twice to help Villarreal secure a 2-1 victory away against Espanyol. Pérez has been in outstanding form this season, netting 6 goals in 7 league appearances, placing him second in the La Liga top scorer list, just behind Lewandowski.

After finishing slightly disappointingly in 8th place last season, Villarreal aims to return to the top six this year. Marcelino needs to break the so-called curse of Las Palmas, as the Yellow Submarine was defeated twice by them last season. Although Villarreal’s home record so far stands at one win, one draw, and one loss, it should be noted that their previous three opponents were Atlético Madrid, Celta Vigo, and Barcelona, all much stronger than Las Palmas.

Las Palmas returned to La Liga last season, securing survival with a 16th-place finish. However, their start to the 2024/25 season has been challenging. Carrión’s team has failed to win any of their first seven matches and is the only team in La Liga yet to claim a victory. While it might be premature to say they are in dire straits, given they are only 4 points from safety, they need to secure a win soon to avoid falling further behind.

In the last round, Las Palmas earned a valuable point at home against a strong Betis side. They hope to continue their recent good record against Villarreal — aside from the double victory mentioned above, Las Palmas has won three out of their last five encounters with the Yellow Submarine.

In terms of personnel, Villarreal currently has five players sidelined due to injury: Pino, Willie Kambwala, Moreno, Foyth, and Pedraza cannot play. Center-back Albiol had to be substituted in the first half against Espanyol, and Marcelino may replace him with Bailly. Las Palmas will miss Malm, Marvin, and McKenna, while Sunderland Ramírez was also substituted early in the last game and is doubtful for this round. If Ramírez cannot play, Scottish international McGoldrick, who joined from Sheffield United in the summer, may partner with local striker Moreira up front.

Despite Las Palmas’ experience in defeating Villarreal, it will likely be challenging for them to leave the current Cerámica Stadium unscathed. Can Pérez continue to open the door to victory for the Yellow Submarine? Tonight’s match will reveal the answer.

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