Copa del Rey Preview: Valencia versus Villarreal (Part 2)
Villarreal are having a superb season in both Primera Division back home and while travelling for their international campaigns. At the moment, Villarreal are at the 3rd position in La Liga. In the domestic League, no doubt, the dominance of Barcelona and Real Madrid still prevails; however, the Yellow Submarines have shown their might and as a result they are in close competition with Los Merengues and Blaugrana.
Breathing down the necks of footballing giants, it is expected that Villarreal will show more firepower this season and if there are a few lapses by the Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho or the Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola, Garrido will take advantage of that, taking his team to the top.
In their European campaign, Villarreal have materialized triumphant from their Europa League group. They have succeeded to the next phase where they will face another underdog team from Italy, Napoli. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Napoli-c40003, the Serie A team has also stunned the footballing world with their lustrous performances this season. The match is expected to be quite an explosive one.
A victory in this stage will propel Villarreal into the next stage of Copa del Rey where Garrido and company will have to face the likes of their Spanish counter parts Sevilla or Malaga.
This will be the quarterfinal stage but Valencia are equally geared up to the challenge in front of them. They will be looking to exploit the woes of Villarreal who already have a depleted squad. Gonzalo Rodriguez has been declared injured for a month, which will possibly see Sebastian Eguren take up duties.
Valencia are 5 points below Villarreal at 28. Hence, there is a heated competition going on between the two teams in La Liga. Valencia, however, have the edge in Copa del Rey as they have already won the tournament 7 times. They last won it against Getafe in the 2008 final.
The manager of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/David-Villa-c10629 will be used as the main gun up front.
For Valencia, it will be their impressive midfielder Ever Banega, who will be gaining all the attention, as his impressive midfield game has produced many fans. In comparison to him, Villarreal will have the likes of Angel Lopez in the right back position. If he manages to deliver the role of a modern winger, who can shift to attack and handle the midfield, Villarreal will have more chances of winning the match.
The 39-year-old manager of Valencia Emery has admitted he has a few tricks up his sleeve therefore, it will be interesting to see what he has to present on pitch. The 2nd leg of this encounter is planned to take place on 5th January at Estadio Madrigal, the home ground of Villarreal, but expectedly whoever takes the advantage from the first match will have a mental boost for the second.
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