Pirès to lay siege to fortress Bernabéu

Midfielder Robert Pirès hopes Villarreal CF can end a decade-long wait for three Liga points against Real Madrid CF at the Spanish champions' Santiago Bernabéu home, saying: "One of these days Villarreal has to win there and that day could be Sunday."

'We are happy'
The Yellow Submarine have failed to win at Real Madrid in nine attempts since making their top-flight debut in the 1998/99 season, but Frenchman Pirès said their battling 2-1 loss at leaders FC Barcelona in Villarreal's last game before Christmas augurs well. "We are happy with the impression we made, but a bit disappointed at having lost against what for me is currently the best team in the league," he said.

Matter of time
"I am sure that if we play with the same motivation against Real Madrid we can get something positive from the match," added the former Arsenal FC player, who played in five UEFA Champions League Group E games in the autumn to help set his side up for a first knockout round tie against Panathinaikos FC. "One of these days Villarreal have to win there and that day could be Sunday."

Liga standings
Barcelona, who host struggling RCD Mallorca on Saturday, lead the standings with 41 points, ten ahead of second-placed Sevilla FC, who play bottom-of-the-table CA Osasuna at home on Sunday. Villarreal are sixth, level on 29 points with fifth-placed Real Madrid ahead of Sunday's clash, while Club Atlético de Madrid and Valencia CF both have 30 and play each other on Saturday at the Mestalla.

Historic strike
Villarreal's fit-again Turkish striker Nihat Kahveci said he was relishing the chance of opening the scoring for his side on Sunday, with he and his team-mates vying to scorw what would be Villarreal's 500th goal in the top flight. "All goals are important but I would be very excited to score the 500th in a stadium as difficult as Madrid's," said the 29-year-old. "It's always great to go down in the history of a club."