Pires eyes Mestalla win

The Yellow Submarine moved with a point of the qualification places last weekend after beating Racing in their Madrigal home while Atletico Madrid were hammered 6-0 in their own backyard by title-chasing Barcelona.

"I am sure that after what we have done in the last matches they will prepare for this match against Villarreal with a lot of respect," he told daily sports newspaper Marca.

"We are conscious of the difficulty in winning at a difficult place like the Mestalla, but for me it is possible [for us] to win in Valencia."

Los Che are four points behind Real Madrid and Barcelona at the top, while Sevilla are two points ahead of Quique Sanchez Flores' team.

"Valencia want to win the title and because of this it will be a great game," the former Arsenal man added. "We are travelling well, with a high level of confidence: what we have done in our last outings demonstrates this."

The match will take place on Sunday.

Jonathan Symcox