Villarreal B take on RCD Espanyol this Saturday (6:30pm CET) at the Stage Front Stadium
Villarreal B head coach Miguel Álvarez appeared at the press conference ahead of one of the most demanding games of the season, the visit to RCD Espanyol at the Stage Front Stadium, which will take place this Saturday 20 January at 6:30pm CET.
Here is what the Mini Submarine manager had to say:
Players missing
“The players who are out are Victor Moreno, Ortega and Hugo. And the players who are with the first team. Carlos Romero and Lekovic are training with them this afternoon. I understand that they will stay with them.”
Cartagena
“In football you have to rebuild yourself every week. Either from defeat or from victory, if you don’t get hit again. We are a bit anxious to see how we can get the boys to play football in a professional setting on the pitch. We played a very good half and a very bad second half, although there’s a lot of advantage in football because the first goal was a penalty and the second was an own goal. We still have confidence in them, but we tell them not to give so much to the opposition.”
A tough match
“Anyone can beat anyone because they are small details and there are very good teams, but Espanyol are recently relegated, they have a great squad and playing at home is a plus because they have a fan base that gives a lot. It won’t be easy, but we’re going to try to compete. We have to improve our version of ourselves and make sure they don’t have a good day because at home they have very good statistics.”
The opponents’ bad run
“In this division it can happen to any team. There are a lot of teams that go a string of games without scoring because, if you’re unlucky enough not to score at home, it’s very difficult away. Look at the number of away games won by almost all of them and the number of teams with a chance of going straight up. We have to improve along the way. The lads are working very well and now they have to take a step forward. We’ve already used up the advantage that they’re young, but my confidence in them is total and so are the demands on them. If you don’t play a great game at Espanyol’s ground, they can make you look foolish.”
Recovering the good image
“We’ve had some very good results. We’ve picked up the pace in the last few games at La Cerámica. At home we’re doing well, but we have to fix the away games, knowing that it’s very difficult. We have to give a little bit more level. We’re working a lot on our weaknesses and the lads have to show it on the pitch because there are some very big teams.”
Keys to the game
“To score one more goal than the opposition because then half of what we want to do in the game plan happens. We have to give our best and try to stop Espanyol from doing that, be very strong defensively because you only have to look at the goals scored by Pere Milla, Braithwaite and Puado.”
