Sevilla vs Real Sociedad preview - Prieto: We won't slack off

Posted Saturday, March 01, 2014 by PA

Midfielder Xabi Prieto thinks Real Sociedad will not find it hard to get themselves back up for Sunday's trip to Sevilla despite hitting a season-high with last weekend's upset victory over Barcelona.

Sociedad helped knock Barca off top spot after inflicting only a third league defeat of the season on the defending champions, Jagoba Arrasate's men running out 3-1 winners over a side including the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Andres Iniesta.

However, Prieto knows Sociedad cannot afford to bask in that victory for too long as they still have plenty of work to do in their bid to win a Champions League spot for a second successive season.

The Basque outfit are currently sixth in the standings on 43 points, the same total as Villarreal in fifth and four points behind Athletic Bilbao in the coveted fourth spot.

Prieto said of the chase for the last Champions League berth: "This fight is going to be very difficult, but we deserve credit for being up there again for a second successive year.

"The team is well-placed heading into the final straight and we are ready to battle for Europe."

Prieto also dismissed any suggestion his side might not have the same motivation against Sevilla as they did against Barca, adding: "The team have enough reasons to go out motivated at the Pizjuan, we are fighting to play in the (Champions League) qualifiers and we've already experienced what the Champions League is like.

"It's a totally different game but the team is ready to compete, we're coming off back-to-back victories and we want to continue our good form."

Sociedad won this corresponding fixture 2-1 last season en route to claiming a top-four finish in La Liga for the first time since 2003, but Prieto is keen to point out that match will have little relevance to this weekend's.

He said: "Every game can be different, the fact we won last year doesn't give us the win this season. We'll have to work very hard to beat this Sevilla because they will want to cut the eight-point gap to us."

Like Sociedad, Sevilla go into the match with confidence high and with plenty to look forward to over the final weeks of the season.

Not only are Sevilla still in the fight for a top-six finish, they are also through to the last 16 of the Europa League after seeing off Maribor on Thursday.

Awaiting Unai Emery's men in that round later this month is the juiciest tie possible - a derby showdown with arch rivals Real Betis.

Before then, though, Sevilla have important league matters to attend to, with coach Emery saying: "When the tie against Betis comes we will look at it then, but now we face Real Sociedad, which is a very important game. We cannot look beyond that."