Samu Castillejo assures that the team are ready for the derby against Valencia (Saturday, 8:45pm)
Villarreal sit in a worthy sixth place in the LaLiga Santander, but the team wants more. Testimony to this are the words of Samu Castillejo, who at midday today assured that both he and his teammates cannot wait to get back to winning ways after two consecutive draws against Barcelona (1-1) and Deportivo (0-0). The First Team’s upcoming match is the thrilling regional derby against Valencia at the Estadio de la Cerámica (Saturday, 8:45pm CET).
“We can’t wait to get back to winning in 2017. Going on a winning streak is what allows you to get to the top. It is a derby and so it will surely be a great game. Valencia won their last match and we will try to not to be complacent to make sure we take the three points at home”, Castillejo affirmed.
According to the Yellows number 19, Valencia have a lot of potential even though they are currently in 17th position: “Valencia are in a difficult situation, but they have great players like Parejo, Munir, Santi Mina… They’re a good team and sooner or later it will show”.
Villarreal are the team to have conceded the fewest goals in the LaLiga Santander this season and at the Estadio de la Cerámica the side has already picked up good results against the league’s best teams. “Competing like we do and even more so at home where we’re really tough to play against, we’ll make things very difficult for them. We’ve played against great teams. Against Barcelona we came close to winning and now we want to win this derby against Valencia”, Castillejo stated.
With regard to his state of fitness, the midfielder was satisfied: “I feel good. I got injured when I was in my best form and I was out for a month. It’s not easy to come back from a muscular injury, but I’m feeling better and better. Bit by bit I hope to get back to the level I was at before I got injured”.
To finish, Castillejo warned that it won’t be at all easy to qualify for a European competition for next season: “This season there are many teams that are fighting for the European places. We will have to fight until the end to get one of the spots. The league gets more and more competitive every year. There are great teams and away from home it’s difficult to pick up points”.
