Villarreal seeks to extend its unbeaten run

Two of the Liga BBVA's most vibrant sides are to face one another on Sunday, when Villarreal CF visits Real Betis Balompié. The side from Castellón is one of this season's surprise packages and it yet to taste defeat, with four wins and two draws in the last six matches played.

Pepe Mel's Betis will be testing the mettle of the yellows, and it will do so in front of a home crowd which is growing restless as the team has so far only recorded one victory. The home manager has Nacho back, while Villarreal is without one player, Farinós, through injury.

“I am not surprised at Villarreal. They are following the principles that helped them win promotion, with practically the same group of players. It is a very good team with many assets, as is Betis. I think their manager is very good and that he works very well, therefore he is where he deserves to be. It is also true that you then need a bit of luck to stay there throughout the year”, said Mel before the match.

Marcelino spoke along similar lines and is expecting a very close game. “We are going to try and continue in the same vein in a match which will be very complicated, but we have every intention of winning. I think both teams are very similar in every aspect, as Betis has maintained the core of the team and the same system with Mel since it was promoted to the Liga BBVA and, also, the way we read the game is very similar, we have players with similar styles in our squads, attacking and dynamic players and we focus on fast passages of play”.