Zaragoza vs Espanyol preview - Aguirre confident of survival - 7M sport

Zaragoza vs Espanyol preview - Aguirre confident of survival



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Posted Sunday, May 15, 2011 by PA

Real Zaragoza coach Javier Aguirre says he is certain his side will stay up, despite their precarious position in the Primera Division with just two games remaining.

Zaragoza had looked certain to wrap up survival after a recent win at the Santiago Bernabeu, but the Aragonese outfit are in 18th place following back-to-back defeats and must return to winning ways to avoid the drop.

Aguirre remains confident, though.

"We are all focused," he said.

"And I'm sure we are going to stay up."

Zaragoza are not guaranteed of survival, even if they win their last two matches, but Aguirre believes two wins will see his side avoid a return to Spain's second tier.

"If we get to 45 points we will be in Primera next season," he said.

"Two wins and we'll stay up."

Espanyol, meanwhile, need two wins to have any chance of sealing a place in Europe next season.

"We depend on ourselves and there's a lot of merit in that," coach Mauricio Pochettino said.

"We're playing for a place in the Europa League and Zaragoza are playing for survival, so we expect a hostile atmosphere - but we'll go there to win the game."

With two games left, Espanyol lie three points behind sixth-placed Sevilla, their rival at Cornella on the final day of the season.

Ivan de la Pena, Sergio Garcia, Raul Baena, Jesus Datolo and David Garcia are all set to miss the trip to Zaragoza, while Matteo Contini and Maurizio Lanzaro are both sidelined for the hosts.



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