Athletic Bilbao vs Villarreal - Fran Escriba says Villarreal must be special to win

Villarreal coach Fran Escriba believes his side can forget about picking up a three-point haul at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday unless they can produce a "great" performance.

The Yellow Submarine started the weekend in third place in LaLiga, five points and four spots better off than Athletic, but Escriba is not reading too much into that as they make the testing trip to San Mames.

Villarreal have lost on four of their last seven visits to the Basque giants, with their only victory in that time coming back in 2011, and Escriba knows they will need to be on top of their game to get something this weekend.

He said: "There are stadiums that are special and Sam Mames is one of them. Athletic are much stronger at their home than away and, as such, it's going to be a very long 90 minutes.

"Sam Mames has a special atmosphere where everyone is on top of you. Their players really identify with their team and it's impossible to beat them if you don't have a great game."

Escriba, who this week celebrated 100 days in charge of Villarreal, is also wary of the physical threat that Athletic pose as he takes into account Thursday's potentially crucial Europa League trip to FC Zurich.

Escriba added on his club's website: "It will be a very physical game in Bilbao and then we have another very difficult game in Zurich. Athletic are a great team. If we base our game on being physical, going hand to hand, we aren't going to do anything."

Athletic are also in Europa League action on Thursday, hosting Sassuolo, but coach Ernesto Valverde is focused on trying to close the gap to Villarreal this weekend.

The Basque outfit won only one of five league games prior to the international break and Valverde says his players are itching to get back into action.

He said in AS: "We're looking forward to returning to competition, and the challenge of facing Villarreal, who are above us and in the last few years have been fighting for the same objectives.

"It's always an attractive, tough and very tactical game. It's a great opportunity to get the three points and move close to them."