Villarreal vs Deportivo La Coruna preview - Marcelino won't rest on his laurels

Posted Saturday, December 20, 2014 by PA

Villarreal coach Marcelino insists he is not taking Sunday's match against struggling Deportivo La Coruna for granted, even after his side beat Atletico Madrid last weekend.

Luciano Vietto's late strike condemned the champions to their first home defeat in 27 league games and saw Villarreal record a fourth straight Primera Division win, keeping them in sixth place.

"The fact we have just beaten Atletico Madrid does not give us more of a chance of beating Deportivo," Marcelino told the club's official website.

"We'll need to fight as hard as we can, because Deportivo are going to demand a lot of us. I hope we can have a good day and that with the help of our fans we can get the victory."

The Yellow Submarine are looking forward to competing in the knockout stages of the Europa League in 2015 and maintaining their push for another top-six finish in the league, and Marcelino is calling on his side to produce one more win to cap what has been a memorable year for the club.

He said: "It's difficult to ask any more from this team because they have done everything asked of them, but we have to keep on going down this path, because we have shown we have so much quality.

"I hope we can win to round off the year, not like in 2013, when we lost to Sevilla - now we want to beat Deportivo so we can finish the year on a high note.

"We should win because we have been strong at home this year, and if we continue to do so we will keep going higher up the table. The important thing is that we have picked up so many points before Christmas despite being in three competitions and suffering a lot of injuries."

The coach is also keen to see that his side do not get carried away after the win at the Calderon and hopes they can follow it up with a professional performance against Depor.

The Galicians are 14 points behind Villarreal but had their spirits lifted by their 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Elche last week.

"There are many incentives for this game, because we'll see if we're capable of continuing to compete at the highest level," added Marcelino.

"When you beat a team as big as Atletico Madrid it's not easy to keep up that level of performances, but if we can do it then it will give us a huge boost mentally."

Midfielder Cani is a doubt for the match, while Deportivo will be without Lucas Perez through injury and Luisinho, who is suspended.