Girona wants to treat Espanyol face to face. At the historical level it is impossible (the parrots have played 2,804 games in the First Division to 102 for the rojiblancos), but it is on the pitch. Míchel, who this Friday at noon offered the press conference prior to the duel, hopes that the break has revitalized his team and it is that in the League he has accumulated three games without winning, with two defeats and a draw. This match against Espanyol will serve to see Montilivi full of fans again (this course only happened when Barça visited them) and there is a desire. The coach of the Girona block was optimistic and hopeful with breaking the statistics that indicate that Espanyol has always won in Montilivi in the First Division: 0-2 in the 2017-18 season and 1-2 in 18-19. Regarding the team, Yan Couto returns after injury and Aleix García, Yangel Herrera, Ibrahima Kebe, Alexander Callens and Joel Roca will continue to be out.
Template status: “After the break, the team has trained very well and we really want to play a great game with our fans. Against Atlético, here, we had a great match, but in the end we lost. We need to win with our fans and I hope that we can all do it together”.
The Spanish: “It is a great team, it has players of a high level. But we, at home, with our fans, have always done things well and have had a point of aggressiveness in this type of game. That’s why I hope the team gives its best version, I think we can have a great match and beat any rival. Espanyol is a team that is now below us in the table, but it has a great block and it will surely be a very difficult duel. It’s a special match, a derby and more than three points, that’s for sure”.
Classification: “We always want the three points, the rival doesn’t matter. Both at home and away. The pressure is always. We have to take a step forward because in the last few games we haven’t won. The team has to go out to win, it is a personality and mentality that we want to have”.
Sergi Darder: “We will make the best team possible and the best thing will be for the block to be at their level. If we are able to win the ball and impose our style, I think players like Darder will be less comfortable, that’s what we want to do. We know that Espanyol have players like Joselu, Braithwaite, Puado, Darder, Denis, Vinicius… with a high level in attack and we want to take a step forward with the ball and be able to not lose possession in dangerous areas that could hit us. damage”.
Angel Herrera: “We are concerned because he is a differential player for us and he has not played much this season. He played a game with the subsidiary last week and did not have the best feelings. It’s better to go little by little because we need the best Yangel, not 50 percent. For me it is a problem because he is a player who, at his level, makes the team better. I hope that soon he will be with the group and give us what he can do, which is to improve the group ”.
12 games to go in the League and they have a five-point margin over relegation: “I have seen some data that maybe 42 points are needed to be saved, but I am worried about the match against Espanyol. I think that by doing things well we will achieve our objectives and this, for me, is the most important thing. If the team needs 45 points, the team is able to do it. My best version is 53, it may be that we get to that, it’s what I want”.
Big match: “It is a match of more than three points because it is a derby, people expect it in the best way. After Barça there will only be ten league games left, it is the competition’s drop and I think we have to be above tenth position, that is my goal. That’s why we have to beat Espanyol. They are also a rival that is four points behind us and if we beat them we would leave them at seven, plus the goal average, which is also important. For all this it is a different and special game. We have gone three games without winning and I think we have to close this streak”.
Espanyol has always won in Montilivi in the First Division: “It’s a special match, but I think the past has nothing to do with the present. There is no revenge or anything. I think it’s a special match and our fans believe it too, but there’s no more”.
Tsygankov: “When he arrived we already said that he is a differential player. In zone three he is differential for goals and assists, but he also has a spectacular capacity for work. He has an amazing leg. He is the type of player we wanted to sign in the winter to take a step forward as a club ”.
The future of Espanyol coach Diego Martínez: “Diego is a great coach and I have to defend the work of all my teammates. I won’t look at whether he can be removed or not. I hope Diego doesn’t have problems”.