Almeria vs Deportivo La Coruna Preview - Almeria look to continue Indian sign

Posted Sunday, February 20, 2011 by PA

Relegation-threatened Almeria will be hoping to continue their domination of Deportivo La Coruna this season when the Galician side visit the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterraneos.

Almeria have beaten Depor three times already this campaign - once in the league and twice in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals - and a fourth victory could lift the Andalusian side out of the bottom three for the first time since last year.

Jose Luis Oltra`s start the 24th round of the Primera Division season in 19th spot and three points adrift of safety after going down 1-0 to fellow strugglers Levante last weekend.

However, while Almeria have enjoyed the upper hand over Depor so far this term, winger Albert Crusat has been quick to remind his team-mates that is all in the past and will have no bearing on tomorrow`s clash.

"It doesn`t influence anything. We cannot go into the game thinking that we`ve already beaten them three times this season, I think that would weaken us," said Crusat, who also believes Depor are a better side now.

The Galician side have had an up-and-down season, and that was been encapsulated in their last three results where they held Sevilla to a 3-3 draw in a topsy-turvy match, then lost 4-1 at Getafe before last week beating third-placed Villarreal.

Crusat said in AS: "They are better and also it`s different, for example, to when we played them in the Copa del Rey. They are now playing pretty well. They come into the match on the back of beating Villarreal, with morale boosted, and they are going to make things difficult for us."

Depor moved up to 14th place in the table following their win over Villarreal, although they are still only three points above the relegation zone.

Speaking about his side`s defeats to Almeria, Depor midfielder Juan Dominguez said ahead of tomorrow`s game: "We aren`t angry, but there is a sense of revenge because having lost three times you want to beat them.

"The main thing is getting the three points. This season we`ve played three times and we`ve lost all three, but Sunday`s game is the most important of the four and beating them would offset what happened before because it`s the most vital."