Feyenoord-Villarreal is a friendly and will be played on Thursday at 7pm: stats, news, formations, predictions, live TV and streaming
Not long to go until Feyenoord’s first official engagement, as they take on Psv Eindhoven on 4 August in the one-off Dutch Super Cup tie, known as the Johan Cruijff Schaal. Arne Slot’s men arrive there as defending champions
They literally dominated the last Eredivisie, finishing seven points ahead of second-placed Psv. In the Europa League, however, the red-and-whites’ adventure was halted in the quarter-finals, again against Roma – by now a real black beast – who had already beaten them a year earlier in the Conference League final. Feyenoord played their first pre-season friendly almost a month ago, beating Pec Zwolle 3-1. Four days later they won against Club Brugge (2-0) but have not won since. First the white-net draw with Belgium’s Union Saint-Gilloise, then the 4-2 defeat against Bundesliga club Hoffenhaim. Slot in this market had to say goodbye to his team captain, Turkish midfielder Kokcu, who moved to Benfica for 25 million euros. Money that the club promptly reinvested: among the most important signings were three-quarter Stengs (arrived from Nice via Antwerp) and midfielder Zerrouki, ex-Twente. The latter is expected to start from the 1′ in the test against Villarreal, who visit De Kuip from Rotterdam.
Quique Setien’s Spaniards have started training later than Feyenoord, as the La Liga will only start on 13 August.
Gerard Moreno
Two defeats in three matches so far for the Yellow Submarine, overwhelmed 6-1 by Swiss side St. Gallen and, more recently, 3-0 by Hannover. In between was a 3-0 victory over Austrian side Altach. With the market still open, Villarreal remain an open building site, although pawns like Jackson, Chukwueze and Pau Torres are not easily replaced.
The Prediction
Villarreal have not impressed in their first friendlies and are likely to struggle against a Feyenoord side already almost ready for their first official engagement. The Dutch are favourites in a match in which both sides should score.
Feyenoord v Villarreal matchday squad
- FEYENOORD (4-2-3-1): Bijlow; Pedersen, Geertruida, Hancko, Hartman; Wieffer, Zerrouki; Minteh, Timber, Paixao; Dilrosun.
- VILLARREAL (4-3-3): Jorgensen; Femenia, Mandi, Rando, Pedraza; Capoue, Dani Parejo, Trigueros; Ferrari, Gerard Moreno, Blanco.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
