John Carew set for Valencia reunion

Striker John Carew will be reunited with former club Valencia after Villa announced they will face the Spanish giants in a pre-season friendly.

Martin O'Neill's men will host the Los Che, who finished third in La Liga last season, at Villa Park on Friday August 6 in a 7.45pm kick off.

Once again it marks the arrival of glamour friendly opposition to Villa Park, with Inter Milan and Fiorentina both having visited in recent summers.

Valencia, managed by Unai Emery and boasting stars like David Navarro, Joaquin and Mehmet Topal, boast a glittering history having won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups, one UEFA Cup, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, two Super Cups and two Spanish Super Cups.

They also reached two consecutive Champions League finals, losing to La Liga rivals Real Madrid in 2000 and then German club Bayern Munich in 2001 – Holte End hero Carew, a player there between 2000 to 2004, featuring in the latter game.

Villa have confirmed there will be a series of family activities laid on for supporters beforehand.

The game is likely to round off the Villans' pre-season preparations with the claret and blues facing Walsall at the Banks's Stadium on Tuesday July 27, before heading to Portugal to compete in the Guadiana Cup against former European Cup winners Benfica and Feyenoord.

The pre-season tournament, which takes place over three days between July 30 and August 1, is set to be played in Vila Real de San Antonio in the Eastern Algarve.