Pellegrino buoyant on Valencia chances

Valencia coach Mauricio Pellegrino believes his side will be difficult to beat this season as they prepare for a tough opening fixture in La Liga.

Pellegrino’s men travel to Real Madrid to kick off their season on Sunday as they look to build on their impressive third-placed finish last season.

The Argentine tactician insists his side have the players to trouble Real and that Jose Mourinho’s side will not be looking forward to the encounter.

“If someone had chosen to play against a team (in their opening game), no one would have liked to play against Valencia,” he said.

“We are a difficult team to beat and tomorrow they will find out that.”

Pellegrino also believes that the mid-week international fixtures will not play a massive part in the game, despite both teams having several players involved.

“I am not concerned at all,” he said.

“We are two teams with a lot of international players. They (the players) have to work hard and we have to adapt to the situation, but I think the players will be ready for the match.”

The former Valencia and Barcelona defender added some zest to the encounter by admitting that he was far from affable with Real counterpart Mourinho.

“I like him as a coach because he has gone and experienced different leagues and different players,” he said.

“We were colleagues before and I knew him when he trained Chelsea, but we are not friends.”