(Football news) Last Monday, Villarreal was ousted from the Copa del Rey after losing to Unionistas de Salamanca in a penalty shootout. Meanwhile, Las Palmas was defeated 2-0 by Tenerife in the fixture. Las Palmas’ major goal for this season is to solidify their return to the top level after winning promotion back to La Liga as the 2022–23 Segunda Division runners-up.

Any spot above 18th would therefore be regarded a successful season, but the squad have performed above expectations, enjoying a record of seven wins, four draws and eight defeats from their 19 matches, which has put them in 10th rank in the table with 25 points.

Despite being just three points behind Real Betis in seventh place and 10 points clear of the relegation zone, Pio Pio will be coming off three straight losses across all competitions when they play this match.

As a matter of fact, Garcia Pimienta’s team has lost 2-0 to Tenerife in the Copa del Rey on Sunday and has suffered defeats in their previous two league games against Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona before the winter break.

In the rematch earlier in the season, Las Palmas defeated Villarreal 2-1; however, the visitors triumphed 2-0 in Estadio Gran Canaria when the two teams met again in March 2018.

Surprisingly, Villarreal was also defeated in the Copa del Rey last-32 stage, falling to Unionstas de Salamanca, a third-tier team, on penalties on Monday night after a 1-1 draw.

Towards the end of the previous year, the Yellow Submarine secured their place in the Europa League’s last-16 round, therefore there is still a potential for cup victory in the 2023–24 campaign.

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