Sevilla vs Villarreal preview - Catala: Victory is vital

Posted Sunday, April 24, 2011 by PA

Villarreal defender Jose Manuel Catala believes his side can all but secure a Champions League berth with a victory over fellow high-flyers Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium.

Fourth-placed Villarreal currently boast a nine-point lead over Athletic Bilbao in fifth and, with only five games left after this weekend, Catalan feels they would be virtually uncatchable if they return from Andalusian with a three-point haul.

He said: "We know that winning this Sunday that our chances of qualifying for the Champions League will be about 90%.

"We would rule out a strong rival and that's what we've been working towards throughout the week.

"It's going to be similar to the Copa del Rey game," added Catala, whose side lost 6-3 on aggregate to Sevilla in the cup quarter-finals earlier this year despite leading 3-1 at one stage in the first leg.

"They are going to come out fighting and we must learn from that lesson and come out with the same intensity as them.

"For them it's the last chance to get into the Champions League and it's like a final."

Sevilla, who have a hugely-impressive home record against Villarreal having won eight of their nine previous league meetings with the Yellow Submarine, had looked like making a late bid for a top four spot after holding leaders Barcelona to a draw and then beating third-placed Valencia and Real Zaragoza in successive games.

However, Gregorio Manzano's side were held 2-2 at Real Mallorca and then lost 1-0 at struggling Getafe - a side who had previously won just once in league 16 matches in 2011 - last weekend.

That left Sevilla 11 points behind Villarreal, and defender Martin Caceres believes they need to be realistic about what they are battling for now.

"The Champions League is gone, we have to accept that," he said. "We have to be positive and make sure we finish fifth."

However, his team-mate Federico Fazio is refusing to give up the fight just yet, saying: "Whilst we still have a mathematical chance of getting into the Champions League we cannot rule anything out.

"We need to think about finishing as high as possible and the first step will be to beat Villarreal. We have to take it game by game and if we can`t get into the Champions League we need to go for the Europa League."