Villarreal vs Real Sociedad preview - Soriano wary of Sociedad

Posted Sunday, January 23, 2011 by PA

Villarreal will look to put their midweek Copa del Rey disappointment behind them with a home victory over mid-table Real Sociedad, although midfielder Bruno Soriano is not expecting an easy time of it.

The Yellow Submarine bid farewell to the cup after being thumped 3-0 by holders Sevilla in the second leg of their quarter-final clash on Tuesday, with the the Andalusians side going through 6-3 on aggregate.

Considering they led 2-0 and 3-1 in the first leg at El Madrigal, being knocked out would have been a bitter pill to swallow for Villarreal, and they will be desperate to put on a good showing against Sociedad this weekend.

Bruno, whose side are third in the Primera Division standings and have picked up 28 from a possible 30 points at home this season, said: "We need to forget about the cup and try to stay at the top of the table until the end of the season.

"We have high hopes of achieving something important this season and between us we will try and do that. We must take it game by game and give it everything."

The Spain international knows promoted Sociedad are unlikely to be pushovers, though. The San Sebastian outfit beat Villarreal 1-0 at home in their opening game of the campaign and make the trip to the east coast lying in 11th spot, five points off the European places and nine clear of the relegation zone.

"It will be very difficult to overcome Real Sociedad as was shown in the first game of the season. I hope that it will be different this time and we can show what we can do," Bruno added.

Sociedad ended a miserable run of four straight league defeats with an impressive 4-0 win at Getafe last weekend.

Striker Joseba Llorente swapped Villarreal for Sociedad last summer and he is looking forward to returning to his old stomping ground, saying: "It`s a very special game for me, because I spent two very important years there.

"It will be nice to say hello to the many friends I have there, but when the game starts everyone will look out for their own club`s interests and I`ll be gunning for them. They will be looking to defend third place and we want to continue improving."