Villarreal B head to a tough stadium to visit this Saturday at 6:30pm CET

Villarreal B head coach, Miguel Álvarez, appeared in front of the media ahead of the match against SD Huesca, corresponding to Matchday 15 of the 2022/23 LaLiga SmartBank season, which will take place tomorrow at 6:30pm CET at El Alcoraz. He highlighted the difficulty of winning at Huesca’s home ground, where the Mini Submarine’s next opponents have won the majority of their 20 points.

Here are his key points: 

The team’s form 

“We’re going into the team in good shape, although, like all teams, tired. There may be changes. The squad is of vital importance in these tight games. Everyone is important and no one is indispensable. Everyone is available.”

The match at El Alcoraz

“We’re expecting a very difficult game, with a lot of rhythm and a lot of pace, like they want it. They are one of the strongest teams at home. Of their 20 points, they have got 14 at home. They have a lot of variations in their game, which is important in this division. I expect my team to understand how to compete away from home. We are improving in these last few games. In Albacete we competed very well, but we have a lot of room for improvement and that makes me very calm. They believe in what we do. The game in Huesca will be difficult.”

The keys to the match

“Knowing the role of each player at the right time and thinking more about the ‘we’ than the ‘I’. What I want them to know is that to go away you have to handle yourself in contexts that are not pleasant, that you don’t like and that are difficult to manage. That’s what football is all about. In many moments, the opponent is going to take you to a low or medium block, but if the opponent sees that you feel comfortable in those contexts, it makes it very difficult for them.”

Defensive solidity

“It’s vital. When you go away you have to know that the opponents will often have the initiative, that they will subdue you because of their game, their work, their players and the crowd. All of this context means that the opposing team will sink you many times and it all depends on them knowing what role they have to play. You have to let the opposition know that no matter how many crosses they put in, they’re not going to score. It’s a team effort.”

Mbacke

“Everyone sees him with the eyes of a spectator, but I see him with the eyes of a coach. He is a player with impressive conditions and a lot of projection. With what he has he can play, but we want to improve him because they are simple things and he wants to improve. He has to be more vigilant in his vision and in directing his marking. Many times he doesn’t do it because he sees himself as superior and he has solutions. He has a great movement on the ball, but in defence you have to play simple. We are very happy with him.”

Injuries

“Iker (Goujón) doesn’t have any more knocks, Pablo (Iñiguez) is already working with us and Sergio (Lozano) is already doing important work. With Pablo we will benefit from next week’s break because he is very close to returning if nothing happens and it will increase the competition in defence, which is very good because it makes them improve.”