Real Sociedad vs Valencia preview - Mustafi calls for cool heads

Posted Saturday, September 27, 2014 by PA

Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi has called for cool heads within the camp as Los Che look to continue their impressive start to the Primera Division season when they travel to Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Nuno Espirito Santo's side begin the weekend top of the league, level on 13 points from five games with Barcelona and Sevilla.

Their 3-0 victory over Cordoba on Thursday was a fourth straight win, and they have scored 12 goals during that sequence while conceding only one.

Summer signing Mustafi, who made his Valencia debut in that match, says the team are very much "hungry for victory" at the moment.

But he has also stressed the importance of not getting carried away with how well things are going.

The Germany international, quoted by Marca, said: "We are very hungry for victory and on Sunday we want to maintain the great run. We want to win every game."

On the standings, he added: "It's always important to be on the top of the league but the most important thing is to stay calm because it is very easy to fall.

"The difficult thing is to stay there and we cannot let it go to our heads. We should be careful."

Nuno, who took over as Valencia boss during the summer, is also taking a cautious stance.

He said: "The classification is not decisive at the moment - we are not obsessed with it, because it is still early.

"To fight against the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid for the title, we are going to have to work very hard."

Real Sociedad finished a place above Valencia in the table last term in seventh, but their 2014-15 league campaign - aside from a 4-2 victory over Real Madrid - has not gone well so far.

Jagoba Arrasate's men have lost three and drawn one of their other four matches and defender Alberto de la Bella feels the Basques have a "final" on their hands on Sunday as they aim get their season back on track.

"We have a difficult game against Valencia at Anoeta. We know they are doing very well. But we want to reverse the doubts that we are creating with our poor performances," De La Bella said.

"We know it's a final. We have to change the dynamics. We need the three points to gain confidence and get further up the table."