Unai Emery underlines the importance of the points up for grabs against Levante (Sunday, 9pm CEST)

Villarreal CF head coach underlined the importance of this Sunday’s match against Levante UD (9pm CEST, Ciutat de Valencia) for the Submarine’s European hopes.

The high amount of games in so little time should not affect the team’s focus. “We’re only focussing on the game against Levante, we’ve had a defeat in te league and we need to recover from that error, as there’s no time to think. We need to focus on this match, so we will line up with the best XI possible,” commented Emery. 

For the Basque head coach, the match against Levante will be demanding. “We have references from previous matches with Levante, there have been matches like the one in the cup where we were better, and matches where they deserved more. It shows that beating them isn’t easy. They’re a team made in the image of their coach, who have a lot of alternatives, a lot of tactical changes and a lot of players, so we need to be ready so they don’t surprise. They’re a team who are clear about things and have a lot of personality. They like to have the ball, play out from the back from the goalkeeper, stop the game and have fast options. They also press well after losing the ball, to sum it up, we know that a tough match is ahead of us. In the cup, we put in a complete performance and we lost, so that says to us we need to do something more.”

With regards to the  upcoming opponent, Emery is clear what are their strengths: “We’re expecting Levante at their best, they’ve got Campaña back and with that, they’ve recovered balance. They were excited with the cup, and perhaps being eliminated was hard for them, but now I think that they’ve recovered. This is a special match for both sides, it’s a derby, which is always special. I’m expecting them in a good moment, they’re a team that is growing as a club, on and off the pitch, which is making them grow a lot. They have young players who are growing, footballers who are now making a name for themselves, and who are competing at a really high level. They’re a very recognisable team, a team how want to take a step forward thinking about Europe, and winning this game could give them a step forward to think about that. They are definitely motivated, and add that to it being a derby.”

To conclude, Emery underlined that three points are important to try and get into Europe next season: “We know that there are four very solid teams in the Champions League spots, and the title is up for grabs. In the Europa League, there are three teams there are the moment, although there are other teams that can get into this fight if we trip up.”

Watch his full press conference in Spanish by clicking the play logo.