Victory the only objective at El Madrigal

The Estadio de El Madrigal will host an intriguing clash between Villarreal CF and Athletic Club on matchday 19 of the Liga BBVA. Both sides, who are in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey and the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League, will look for their first Liga BBVA victories of 2015. Villarreal, who lie in the European places, are out to stay firmly in touch with the table’s upper reaches, while Athletic’s aim is to put distance between themselves and the lower echelons of the division.

Team news
Villarreal’s chief absentee going into the match is midfielder Manu Trigueros, who is suspended. Meanwhile, defenders Bojan Jokić and Adrián Marín remain on the treatment table along with midfield man Hernán Pérez. For Athletic, Guillermo Fernández stays on the sidelines for a further week while Iker Muniain begins a two-match suspension.

Views from the dugout
Villarreal coach Marcelino García Toral stressed in recent days that his team is enjoying a positive period, but must put their run of eight Liga BBVA games unbeaten out of their minds. "The team looks in good form to me. We shouldn’t think about the time we’ve gone without losing, but only about beating Athletic, because if we win we’ll increase the distance from them in the table," he said. Meanwhile, Athletic boss Ernesto Valverde was quick to praise his side’s opponents and highlight the importance of the points: "Villarreal are in really good shape, really well set up in attack. Behind Real Madrid, they have the best counter-attack. It’s a difficult match and we need the points."