Emery: "I'd be lying if I said I would prefer Cristiano to play"

Unai Emery spoke at a press conference on Tuesday, the day before his side face La Liga leaders Real Madrid at the Bernabéu. Sevilla’s win against Espanyol, coupled with Valencia’s defeat against Málaga, means Sevilla will still occupy fourth place in the table whatever happens on Wednesday evening. Despite that, Emery intends to try to cause an upset in the Spanish capital.

Visit to the Bernabéu: “We play every game to win, logically the difficulty of the rival is going to affect your chances [of winning], but we have nothing in mind other than going out to win. Tomorrow we’ll be thinking that we hope to reach 45 points, we have the opportunity: we know the difficulty involved in [beating] Madrid at their stadium but our only mentality is being able to overcome it.”

System: “It’s clear that Real Madrid’s attacking ability is high at the Bernabéu. Therefore, our defensive situation has to be important, but you cannot win if you don’t build attacks – we also have to consider that.”

Previous duels: "In the European Super Cup they were better. We have the opportunity to face up to them and demonstrate where we are. I think the credibility and consistency of the team in La Liga is important and tomorrow we have an opportunity in a beautiful setting, where we all want to be and we all want to take advantage of that.”

Cristiano: "If I said I would prefer Cristiano Ronaldo to play I would be lying. But they have other players than can play more of a ‘combination’ game. The individual characteristics they have are of a high standard. Bale? All of them are very good. In their stadium, additionally, they are very strong. Ancelotti’s words praising Sevilla? I also like Real Madrid too (laughs). Ancelotti has important credibility.”

Squad: “We have a big squad, with players who are eager to play and demonstrate their level. We all have the credibility that having 42 points give us. I saw Krychowiak on crutches the other day and he told me that he was going to play. He tells me that if he doesn’t play it’s because I didn’t want to select him. We need players who are in good condition. Let’s wait until training this afternoon and we will assess it. We will also assess Beto. Reyes, Tremoulinas and Gameiro are ruled out."

Lack of January signings: “The points that we have achieved have been accrued with the people that are here. For me, the best signings are the players who have recovered from injuries and, I hope, will be with us soon. I think that there is reason to trust them.”

Iago Aspas: "“He is an important player, he must continue to be important. His contribution was very good. We are all glad for the day to day [work] they (the players) carry out. There is double joy when you see a footballer that has participated less go out and give a good performance. That is positive.”

from Últimas noticias | Diario AS http://ift.tt/1BSrask

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