Villarreal's reserve team and Zamora CF will cross paths again on the road to professional football 17 seasons later. The promotion play-off will begin next weekend, with the first leg at the Mini Estadi on Sunday the 31st at 8:30 PM, and the return leg at Ruta de la Plata on Sunday, June 7th at 6:30 PM.

In the 2008/09 season, under coach Juan Carlos Garrido, Villarreal B overcame this tie. The first leg in Zamora ended with a 0-2 victory for the 'groguets', with goals from Javi Matilla and an own goal by Gerard Barodia. The return leg, played at El Madrigal, concluded with another 2-0 win, thanks to goals from Chando and Joan Tomás. Subsequently, the 'groguet' reserves eliminated Lorca and achieved promotion to the Second Division by defeating Real Jaén in the final.

This will be the seventh promotion play-off for Villarreal B, who have been promoted on two occasions: the 2008/09 season and the 2021/22 season. In the latter, the pandemic forced the phase to be played at a neutral venue, achieving promotion after overcoming UD Logroñés and Nàstic.

However, the reserve team has experienced five unsuccessful promotion attempts. In 2015/16, they lost to UD Logroñés; in 2017/18, they lost the final against Elche; in 2018/19, they were eliminated by Melilla in the first round; and in 2020/21, they participated in a promotion league phase without success.

Should they overcome the tie against Zamora, Villarreal B will face the winner of the match between Real Madrid Castilla and CE Sabadell. If the opponent were the Catalan team, the first leg would be played at the Mini Estadi and the second leg at La Nova Creu Alta. If it were against Real Madrid's reserve team, the first leg would be at the Estadio Alfredo di Stéfano and the second leg at the Mini Estadi or La Cerámica.