Marcelino says he is relishing Villarreal’s “great but even” Champions League playoff against Monaco, which commences later this month.
Villarreal will be hoping for the same fate as Valencia when they kick off their tie against Monaco on August 17, Los Che having beat the French side 4-3 on aggregate at the same stage last season.
“It’ll be a great tie, both teams have a similar style of play and it’ll be even. The [small] details will decide [the tie],” the Coach told BeIN Sport.
“We’ve drawn this team by chance and it’s important that we get lucky in the tie.
“They’re tough opponents, although I think that Roma were the most difficult.
“Monaco are a team who were eliminated by Valencia last season but have become one of the best in France, which has a strong League.
“We’ll play the first match at home, but it’s nothing new. The draw has been made and so be it.
“It’s more important to be lucky in the games themselves than playing first at home or not.
“We always thought that we’d arrive in the best possible shape. We have an important part of the squad [who are fit], plus the signings, although we have problems in attack with the injury to [Cedric Bakambu].
“It leaves us in a far-from-ideal situation, but we’ve signed [Alexandre] Pato and he’s trying to get in his best possible shape.
“[Radamel Falcao] is top player, but I’m more worried about how to stop Monaco [collectively].
“The more injuries [they have] the better [it is for us], but we must be focused on ourselves, arriving at a good level and playing 180 minutes at the highest level.”
