Valencia will turn their attention to La Liga after the euphoria of the Europa League was tempered by the quarter-final draw.

David Villa scored a hat-trick on Thursday night as Los Che drew 4-4 in Werder Bremen Bremen to progress to the last eight on away goals after a thrilling tie.

However, Valencia were brought somewhat back down to earth after being drawn to face fellow Primera Division side Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals, with Liverpool or Benfica waiting in the last four.

"We're disappointed, as I imagine Atletico Madrid will be, that the two Spanish teams have to face each other in this round and that only one Spanish team will be in the semi-finals," Villa admitted.

Valencia will have to quickly refocus on league action however as they face Almeria on Sunday looking to consolidate third place in the table.

Unai Emery's side are three points ahead of Sevilla in fourth, but Mallorca and Deportivo La Coruna are just four and five points adrift respectively, with Europa League opponents Atletico Madrid also in the hunt at six points behind in seventh.

Defender Angel Dealbert bemoans the fact that the squad has been hit by a number of injuries recently in a crucial part of the season, but admits the home side must concentrate fully on tomorrow's game.

"It is unfortunate that, at a key moment of the season, these injuries are happening and there is no alternative," he told Marca.

"It is no coincidence that almost all the casualties are coming at the back. We were short on numbers but the only thing we can do is give the maximum because Sunday's match is very important.

"Almeria are playing well and getting good results, so we may complicate life if we are not 100%. Now we have two games at the Mestalla (Valencia face Malaga at home on Wednesday) and we cannot let points slip if we want to guarantee third place."

Almeria are currently 11th in the table, 14 points behind Valencia but also a comfortable 10 points clear of the relegation zone.

Since Juan Manuel Lillo replaced Hugo Sanchez just before Christmas, Almeria have won five of their 11 matches and and lost just once, away to Sevilla.

They also came close to defeating European champions Barcelona a fortnight ago, Pep Guardiola's side twice coming from a goal behind to snatch a 2-2 draw.

Lillo's side followed that game with a 1-0 home win over Malaga, but the coach has a number of injury problems ahead of tomorrow's game.

Striker Albert Crusat and defender Guilherme (hamstring) have not been able to train normally this week and are major doubts for the trip to the Mestalla.

However, there was better news about defender Michel, who trained as normal on Thursday