One more post for the road . . . .
Villarreal are forfeiting the match this weekend against Almeria because half of the side is injured. Well, no, that's not really the case, but it does seem that way. Villarreal were missing SEVEN players at practice yesterday (eight if you count Fuentes). Both goalkeepers were out, Lopez with muscle issues and Viera with an injured pelvis, but team doctors said Diego Lopez should be available for Sunday's match. Also, Guille is still out and will miss this weekend, and things are not promising for Jon Dahl Tomasson. Bruno was injured on a tackle by Gonzalo during practice, and Cani and Angel are also suffering.
So, those injuries would leave a starting lineup of who exactly?
On a different front, Villarreal have been linked with Ricardo Oliviera, currently on loan from Milan to Zaragoza. Although he missed many wide open chances against Villarreal, he has had a decent year - 12 goals in 27 starts and five substitute appearances in all competitions (11 in La Liga). But I really just do not feel like this is the type of player we should be going after - same with my argument regarding Claudio Pizarro. I don't mean to get ahead of things here, but Villarreal should qualify for the Champions League for next season, and with a few quality reinforcements and some depth, could be expected to challenge for La Liga. We should be tracking top notch strikers - not castoffs.