Villarreal B face Zaragoza this Saturday at 6:30pm CET
Villarreal B head coach Miguel Álvarez appeared in front of the press ahead of the match at La Cerámica, where the club are expecting a big turnout of fans. The Mini Submarine host Real Zaragoza this Saturday at 6:30pm CE with the need to win in order to escape the relegation zone.
Here is what he had to say:
The injury list
“This week will be better because Ferrari, Hugo and Ontiveros can now be included in the squad. It’s true that the first two are still not 100%, but Ontiveros is in perfect shape. Alberto Del Moral’s absence means that the rest of the players are going to have to give an added boost, because on a collective level he brings a lot to the team. It already happened and Aitor was phenomenal when he played. It hurts and saddens us for him, because he’s practically going to miss the season.”
Building on the draw in Andorra
“We’ve been a strong team at home for several months now. Our opponents know that and we have to take advantage of it. The Andorra game of course hurts, given the minute it happened, and that we dropped two points. When you’re with young players there are points that have to be lost along the way, but it’s part of the process. It hurts because it’s one of the best away games we’ve played, in which we had some very good chances to score, which was a direct rival, and in which we played at a high level. Regardless of the matchday, we have to continue in this vein, and the final objective will be within reach.”
Facing Zaragoza in a key moment
“How do you work when you are close to the relegation zone? I’m not going to change the discourse. The players already know what’s at stake and who we’re playing against, what it could mean for them in the future. It’s prepared like a normal week, in which we try to analyse how they can hurt us and not have it happen and how we can hurt them and have it happen even more. They’re a team that already had a good squad and they’ve also strengthened, which has improved them, which is why the second half of the season is always more difficult.”
Being in the relegation zone
“We are relaxed and taking things in our stride. We make mistakes and have difficulties, of course, but we still have eight home games and seven away games to play. We have to be strong on our home pitch. It’s clear that everything depends on being strong at the Estadio de la Cerámica. If we get the points we think we can get out of the 24 we have left, everything will be easier.”
A message for the fans
“Last year there were a lot of Zaragoza fans here and the response from our fans was double that. The boys have to play, play the best football possible and get the best results possible, to get the fans to come to the ground. But it’s true that to achieve our objective it’s very important that these eight home games help us, which will make it easier, because they give you encouragement and put pressure on the opposition.”
Build on the positives
“The only thing that is up to us is to try to win. That’s the way to try to call them to come. What we are doing is that we are having a very good few years and we have to enjoy that. Two years ago it was crazy to get promoted and last year it was crazy to stay in the division, and this year to be there is also crazy. There is no other B team in our division and we have to enjoy what we have. The players must continue to grow and enjoy this category, which will bring us closer and closer to our objective. We’ve shown that the boys are capable of beating Zaragoza right now. The road is full of obstacles, but we have to keep working to evolve, and that’s the great satisfaction for the coaching staff.”
Keys to the match
“We are expecting a very competitive match. With the new head coach, who has changed the formation, it’s difficult to hurt them. We’re going to try to focus on ourselves and, playing the way we are at the moment, we’ll go out to win.”
