Villarreal handed huge fitness boost ahead of derby with Valencia

Villarreal have been handed a huge injury boost ahead of their derby clash with Valencia on Wednesday night.

The Yellows are looking to keep up the pressure on Real Sociedad in fourth place with an away derby win over struggling Valencia.

And ahead of the clash, Gerard Moreno has been pictured training as normal with the rest of the squad after missing weeks of action.

Quique Setién has also said: “He is training really well. He could be in the squad on Wednesday.”

Naturally, Gerard is not likely to start after spending so much time out, and Villarreal should be over-cautious is anything, given his recent injury record. But having the Spain international on the bench would be a huge boost.

Fortunately for the Yellow Submarine, they also have Nicolas Jackson in fine form up top, helping them to deal with the absence of Jose Luis Morales, who will miss the next couple of weeks, at least.

Jackson has scored three goals in the last two games, including a brace against Celta Vigo last time out.

Villarreal have now won their last two games, while Valencia beat Valladolid last week only to lose to Cadiz over the weekend.

The Yellows will be backed by at least 600 fans at Mestalla on Wednesday, with the away allocation selling out.