Eibar vs Villarreal preview - Marcelino's men feeling the strain

Posted Wednesday, September 24, 2014 by PA

Villarreal coach Marcelino has hit out at the organisers of the Primera Division for giving his side two days fewer to prepare for Wednesday's game than their opponents Eibar.

Los Armeros go into the game in a confident mood after winning 2-0 at Elche last Friday, while Villarreal make the trip north after coming from behind to beat Rayo Vallecano 4-2 on Sunday.

They also had to travel to Germany last week for their Europa League encounter with Borussia Monchengladbach.

Marcelino told reporters: "We got into the game with less rest time than our opponents, they played on Friday and we played on Sunday.

"It's something that happens to us a lot and we need to adapt to it. If it's a difference of 24 hours its understandable, but 48 hours more rest time is a lot, especially considering we are playing in Europe.

"We have to deal with it and accept it, but we keep getting less time to rest."

The coach praised the positive start Gaizka Garitano's side have made to their first ever campaign in La Liga, drawing comparisons with his own team last year.

"We shouldn't be surprised that Eibar are competing, they came into the season in positive and winning form, which happened to us last season," said Marcelino.

"They are a very organised and intense team, they demand a lot of you and so we're going to find it very difficult to get anything from the game."

The Villarreal coach also revealed he would rotate his team against Eibar in anticipation of their next league game, at home to Real Madrid, but stressed this was not motivated by a perception that Garitano's team would be more accommodating opponents than the European champions.

"That game (against Madrid) is on Saturday and we are thinking about it because it comes after this game, but not because of who will be playing," he said.

"We need to focus on how fit we are before games and the number of days between them, that is what we analyse and it will help us to decide."

Marcelino welcomes defender Victor Ruiz back into the team following a muscle problem but Giovani dos Santos, Jaume Costa, Bojan Djokic and Chechu Dorado remain injured.

Eibar's only injury concern involves striker Manu del Moral, who is still struggling with an ankle problem.