Villarreal vs Cordoba preview - Marcelino seeks home comforts

Posted Saturday, April 18, 2015 by PA

Villarreal coach Marcelino is desperate for his side to end their seven-match winless run when they host the Primera Division's bottom side Cordoba on Sunday.

Marcelino, whose side have not tasted victory since beating Celta Vigo 4-1 on March 8, is particularly concerned about their declining home form, having lost 3-0 to Espanyol and 2-0 to Sevilla in their last matches at El Madrigal.

"We need to win at home because we've lost our last two matches at El Madrigal and that has damaged us," the coach told the club's official website.

"Our progression was built on our robust form at home. We have to start picking up those points again that allowed us to move towards the top of the table."

However, despite Villarreal's slide in form, they still look set to finish sixth in La Liga for a second year running, as they are five points above Malaga with seven games remaining in the season.

Marcelino is pleased with his side's campaign.

"Our competitive level is Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad and Malaga," he said.

"We have performed much better than we expected in the summer. We are competing with them on a much smaller budget and that's down to the enormous amount of work of our players."

He also pointed out that injuries to key men such as captain Bruno Soriano and centre-back Mateo Musacchio, who missed three months with hamstring troubles and last week was ruled out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury, have contributed to the team's slump.

"We've had injuries to important players and that has made it a very demanding season for us," he said. "When you have to play at 200 per cent, of course it's going to take its toll on you."

As well as Bruno and Musacchio, defender Jose Antonio Dorado misses Sunday's game through injury, but striker Luciano Vietto returns after missing last week's 1-1 draw at Getafe.

Cordoba, meanwhile, are without Borja Garcia and Daniel Pinillos through suspension, and Villarreal loanee Aleksandr Pantic cannot play for contractual reasons.

The Andalusians have not won a match since January and look set for a swift return to the Segunda Division as they are nine points from escaping the relegation zone.

However, Marcelino warned: "They are playing without any pressure to win and that makes them dangerous. We'll have to focus very hard if we want to win. I am not complacent about them."