The Yellows head coach predicts a very demanding match against Espanyol this Thursday at 7.30pm CEST at La Ceramica
Villarreal CF head coach, Quique Setién, has appeared before the media at the press conference ahead of the match against RCD Espanyol, which will be played tomorrow, Thursday, at 7.30pm CEST, at the Estadio de la Cerámica.
He predicts a difficult game against the Catalan side, who need to win to escape the relegation zone. These are the most important statements he made:
The team’s current morale
“The team is generally in good shape. The players who are available are doing very well, and I feel we can approach the game with confidence. We’re looking forward, we’re disappointed with the last two defeats, but we’re in a strong frame of mind.”
Tomorrow’s match
“It’s a very important game for both teams. Espanyol want to take the points and we’re aiming to be in the European places. The reality is that it’s a very important game for them and we assume that the level of demand they’re going to have is going to be very high, so we’re going to have to be very strong and very attentive to get through this game. It’s going to be very difficult for sure.”
Absentees
“As we have done throughout the season, these circumstances happen and we are fortunate to have players who can adapt to positions that are not theirs, but on some occasions they have been able to do so. We even have the possibility of not playing with a striker, as we have done on other occasions. Fortunately, at the moment, despite the absentees up front, we can cover them with what we have.”
Two points from fifth
“The differences between the teams fighting for Europe are not big, and I think we will be there until the end. There is a lot of parity, this is the nature of the league and of football today. Winning games is extremely difficult, at the moment I worry more about the feelings my team gives me and what I see from the others than about a hypothetical victory or a hypothetical defeat. The other day in Seville the team created a lot of chances and that’s not easy, and that’s what really interests me. We have to try to concede fewer chances than we did the other day, that’s what worries me the most. We have to be able to defend better in many situations.”
Dani Parejo, 100 games for Villarreal in LaLiga
“To have Parejo is to have a player who understands the game and who almost always makes the right decisions, who does what the action requires at any given moment and who knows how to set the tempo, he is unquestionably an exceptional player. That’s why he plays everything and also because his pace allows him to endure what he is enduring and play so many games at a very high level. If we didn’t have him, someone else would play, but it wouldn’t be the same.”