Malaga vs Real Sociedad preview - Moyes won't give up on Europe

Posted Saturday, April 04, 2015 by PA

Real Sociedad coach David Moyes still harbours hope that his side can qualify for the Europa League.

The former Manchester United manager has steered the Basque side away from the relegation zone and up to 10th place in the Primera Division since succeeding Jagoba Arrasate in November.

They are now eight points behind seventh-placed Malaga, who they visit on Saturday, with an away win crucial to keeping La Real's chances of sneaking into Europe alive.

"I think we will have achieved something incredible if we finish seventh, because it's going to be very difficult to reach Malaga," Moyes told a press conference, broadcast on the club's official website.

"We'll have to play very well in these remaining games but we're going to go to Malaga to try and get a result and see if we can catch them, but there's always a possibility in football and we have to try and do that. We have to beat Malaga and then see if we can catch them."

La Real won at Getafe in their last away game, ending a 10-month wait for an away win, and now Moyes wants his side to build on that success at La Rosaleda.

"I think that win has taken a lot of pressure off us as it's always important to get a first victory and we should have got it earlier, but now we have to get the second and then the third and then the fourth, because you won't achieve anything by winning just one away game per season," said the Glaswegian.

Carlos Vela has overcome a muscle strain he picked up during the week so Alberto de la Bella is Moyes' only absentee for the long trip to the south of Spain.

His opposite number Javi Gracia is without midfielder Ignacio Camacho, who recently underwent surgery on his hip, and Marcos Angeleri who is suspended after getting sent off in the 1-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano.