Villarreal had another strong season last time out, finishing in the Europa League places for the second successive year since their promotion back to the top flight.
However, they are yet to push on from this and mount a serious challenge for the top four, despite showing that they have the ability to do so in small spells throughout the 2014-15 season.
Still, given the changes made to the squad over the summer, with a number of key departures and a general shake-up in the team, a top six finish is likely to be the aim again, as they look for a steady first season without some big names.
Summer business
Departures have been the main news for Villarreal this summer, with fans seeing a lot of their favourites depart, particularly in the offensive department. Luciano Vietto has obviously been the big loss, with the Argentine striker joining Atletico Madrid for €20 million after scoring 20 goals in all competitions last season - his first year in Spain after making the step up from his home land.
Giovani dos Santos and Ikechukwu Uche are also notable departures, even if they didn't hit their previous heights in the 2014-15 season. Giovani, who joined LA Galaxy this summer in a deal worth $7 million, netted just once last year, whilst Uche managed six, though that was a noticeable decline from his 14 the season before.
The sales left the Yellow Submarine almost completely devoid of striking options, bar Jonathan Pereira, who spent all of last season out on loan elsewhere having failed to impress his parent club.
However, the money gained from Vietto and Giovani has been reinvested in Roberto Soldado, the Tottenham Hotspur striker returning to Spain after a difficult two years in North London, where he scored seven goals in 52 games. The Spaniard has proven his worth in his home land though, most notably with Valencia where he scored 81 goals in 141 games, and could be a marvellous signing for Villarreal.
They have also snapped up Brazilian forward Leo Baptistao on a loan deal from Atletico, with an option to buy at the end of the season. The 22-year-old has found opportunities hard to come by with his parent club, playing 11 games in all competitions since signing from Rayo Vallecano in 2013, but scored seven goals for his former club on loan last year and will be looking to prove a point this season.
Samu Castillejo and Samu have both been recruited from Malaga as well, the former a 20-year-old winger and the latter a 25-year-old who can play up front or out wide, and they will add to the side going forward as well as helping to make up for the goals lost through a trio of attacking departures.
A more surprising loss is that of Moi Gomez, who has joined Getafe on a season long loan despite looking to have established himself in the first team. The 21-year-old made 31 appearances in the campaign gone, starting 17 of these games, scoring four goals and totting up four assists despite playing in a wide role, when he is naturally an attacking midfielder. He looked set to shine this year, but the Yellow Submarine will instead be without his creativity as they look for another top six finish.
However, they have kept their midfield and back line in tact, whilst adding some goalkeeping competition and another central defender in Victor Ruiz, who joins from Valencia for €2.7 million after an impressive loan spell last year. Having conceded just 37 goals last year, the fourth best tally in the division, the stability at the back is a huge plus for the side, especially given that they have kept hold of the highly-rated Mateo Musacchio as well.
Pre-season campaign
The summer has brought about mixed results for Villarreal, with some fantastic ones and some questionable ones.
A 1-1 draw with Gimnastic Tarragona was hardly the best way to start their pre-season campaign, but results at the Emirates Cup were brilliant for the Yellow Submarine, with them defeating both VfL Wolfsburg and Olympique Lyonnais. Another score draw with Derby County dampened this success, but victories over Everton, Levante and Sporting Gijon, albeit in and amongst another tie with Sassuolo, were again very positive for the club and the team coming into the new season.
If anything, pre-season summed up Villarreal's 2014-15 campaign, in that they have the ability to beat anyone on their day, but they can also be very lacklustre and disappointing at times - though they are capable of grinding out at least a point most of the time and do well to avoid defeat.
Important fixtures
Villarreal have a very kind start to the new season. A trip to newly-promoted Real Betis is a fixture they should certainly win this weekend, whilst games against Espanyol and Granada are again ones that should result in victory. Athletic Bilbao present a tough test in week four, especially after a spectacular win in the first leg of the Super Cup against Barcelona, but they will not face last season's top two until November and December.
A good start to the season with these winnable fixtures is therefore important, as they cannot afford to be trying to catch up with their rivals when tougher games come around. They can easily propel themselves to the very top of the table in the opening few weeks, with a 100 per cent record expected from the first three games at the very least.
Other than having to face both Real Madrid and Barcelona in April, there are not really any tough runs for the Yellow Submarine, and they can be extremely pleased with their schedule for the 2015-16 campaign.
Key players
The defence was such an integral part of Villarreal's successful season last time out, and it will be again this year, with Musacchio required to lead the line to another strong campaign. There have been no changes in this department this summer, and thus one would not expect them to struggle to replicate the solidity of last season, but it is up to the influential Argentine to ensure more defensive success.
One man who needs to step up to improve the team though is Jonathan dos Santos. Having seen his brother depart to join the MLS, dos Santos' creativity is going to be extremely important as he looks to supply the new strikers with the service needed for them to find the back of the net. Gomez's temporary departure is another reason why he needs to contribute more too, looking to add to the sole assist he recorded in 2014-15.
The midfielder also needs to look to add more goals to his game, having netted just two in La Liga last year, especially with there being some more changes in the attacking third this summer.
It is also a big season for new signing Soldado, especially on a personal basis. Whilst Villarreal certainly need his goals this year, he needs them even more to recover from a confidence-crushing two years in England. The 30-year-old struggled to take his conviction in front of goal with him to the Premier League and will need a strong season back in Spain and some early goals to restore his self-belief, which will, in turn, increase his effectiveness for the team.
With a flurry of kind fixtures from the off, there are bound to be plenty of chances for Soldado to get his Villarreal career off to a good start too, and he needs to take them, for the good of himself and the team.
The Yellow Submarine require the Spanish international to find his Valencia form as well, because they have lost a lot of goals this summer, which could be especially harmful after scoring just 48 last year - the lowest amount in the top six by some margin, with Atletico netting the fifth lowest with 67.
Potential worries
The big worry for Villarreal this season is goal-scoring, as aforementioned. With no reliable scorer in the team now, they are going to have to look to new signings to find the back of the net, who may need time to settle into the side.
Players from midfield and out wide desperately need to step up, whilst the Yellow Submarine should also probably look at bringing in another attacker before the window shuts. Their defence looks solid, but it's going forward where the potential problems lie, and these cannot become realistic issues as the team struggled enough to find the back of the net last year.
As touched upon, the club were way off the top five in terms of goal-scoring last year, their figure of 48 way off the 110, 118, 67, 70 and 71 recorded respectively by the teams above them, with their defence only bettering Real Madrid in second and Sevilla in fifth to help improve their goal difference. They will hope Soldado returns to his previously prolific form, but cannot expect this to happen and need to invest in some more attacking power before the end of the transfer window.
Prediction
With so many changes in the team, the aim will be to stay in the top six, as opposed to pushing for the top four, which may have been the target had Villarreal not lost so many players this summer.
Like last season, the team certainly look good enough to make the top six, with the likes of Celta Vigo, Malaga and Athletic Bilbao not as strong as them in various areas, but again the gap to the teams above them looks too big to be conquered with all the settling the side needs to do.
A strong start to the season should see the Yellow Submarine set the tone for another successful campaign, with it to lay a promising foundation to build on for next year.