Jagoba Arrasate spoke to the media at his pre-match press conference ahead of our game against Alaves on Friday evening. Find out what the boss had to say below:
On events in Valencia: It was complicated when we saw the images and what had happened. Football has taken a back seat. Everyone can have their own opinion, but I understood that in that community there was little desire to do anything other than help. From here, we have shown all our solidarity.
On the game: Alaves can beat us, but not for the same reasons as against RCD Espanyol. Alavés have just won in the cup and under Luis García they have achieved promotion and a tenth place finish. I expect to see the best Alavés and the best Mendizorroza.
On victory against Alavés: The most important thing is what we have to do to win. I know the big nights at Mendizorroza, the atmosphere that will be there and they will put a lot of pressure on us.
On Samu Costa's suspension: We've lost Samu, who has played everything so far. However, we have had alternatives. Antonio, Sergi Darder and Rober can take his place. Samu has been aware that there has been no wrongdoing in his actions, but he also knows that he has had to measure his interventions. He is young and has room for improvement, which has helped him to learn.
On Manu Morlanes' form: He has been in great. I liked the pairing he formed with Omar. With the ball, he has always had criteria, but now he has also been very good without the ball and in very good form.
On Takuma Asano and Javier Llabrés: Takuma has been working incredibly well, and we hope to be able to count on him after the break. With Javier Llabrés we didn't want to take any risks as he will have his operation reviewed next week.
On starting XI: We have the plan decided, but I can't say it here. The team has played with two strikers, with midfielders and strikers, with wingers. We have different solutions. As you may have seen, on the list are Muriqi, Abdón, Larin and Marc so we can do different things.
On the fixture calendar: We made a big effort against Athletic Club. There will be changes in the line-up, and we need to put hunger and freshness into the game. There is little time to work and we have to manage the breaks well.
