Athletic, Villarreal and Real Sociedad dreaming of European glory

The UEFA Europa League is back, and will again feature three LaLiga Santander teams. Athletic Club, Villarreal CF and Real Sociedad will be looking to follow in the footsteps of Sevilla FC and Atletico Madrid, who have both won the competition in recent times.

The first Spanish side to take to the field will be Villarreal, who face Kazakhstan's FC Astana at 19:00, in a group also containing Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC and SK Slavia Prague. Villarreal and Astana last locked horns relatively recently, in the playoff for the Europa League two seasons ago. The Yellow Submarines came out on top that time, winning 7-0 on aggregate.

Fran Escriba's men are boosted by the return of Denis Cheryshev to the squad, who is back to fitness after several months on the sidelines. Staying focused will be one of the keys to success in this encounter, and Manu Trigueros is more than aware of the importance of this match: "Europa League games are always special. We want to win, even more so since we're playing at home and we know that it's always tough to get points in the Europa League."

Following the conclusion of the Villarreal match, Athletic and La Real kick off their games at 21:05. It's the first time in four years that the San Sebastian side have reached the group stages in a European competition, and they'll be pitting their wits against Norway's Rosenborg BK. Eusebio Sacristan's charges go into this match in red-hot form, having won all three of their LaLiga Santander matches to date, a feat only matched by FC Barcelona. La Real will also be facing FC Zenit and FK Vardar in their group.

The other Basque representatives from LaLiga, Athletic, take on Hertha Berlin away from home, having reached the group stage after getting past two qualifying stages. Unai Nuñez and Beñat are out of contention for Jose Angel Ziganda's men, but Kepa Arrizabalaga is back between the sticks, in a match that could prove vital for their prospects of qualifying for the next round. Los Leones's group also features Ukrainians FC Zorya Luhansk and Swedes Ostersunds FK.