Physical factor

“The team is tired, as is normal, because of the match and the travel. The most important thing is to recover physically. The excitement is at its highest, and that gives you a lot of energy. The players are very confident and really eager for the match to come.”

Fiesta of football

“We saw a very good match there, against a team with a really attractive playing style that is capable of performing very well. Hopefully we’ll get a game like the other day; this should be a celebration of football, and for the fans’ sake, we hope it turns into a great match.”

UD Las Palmas

“We think they might make some changes, although they have a very recognisable team. That’s not easy, and it speaks highly of the work they do. That’s what has allowed them to earn the points they have and have such an outstanding season. There may be some tweaks in their structure, maybe playing with two strikers or making a few adjustments, but they won’t stray from their philosophy. They are the second-best defensive team, and not because they sit deep, but because they take the ball away from you and don’t let you attack. With that kind of control, they end up overwhelming you. We haven’t done anything yet; there’s another game coming up and we’ll go into it looking to win. We’re facing a great team that won’t give us anything for free. We know we’re with our fans and that we have a slight advantage.”

Scoring goals

“There’s a reality. Tomorrow we have to go out there and score goals. What comes after that, we’ll see, if we’re lucky enough to keep enjoying this. Right now, we’re fully focused on this match.”

Equality and rivals

“If this league has shown anything, it’s how evenly matched all the teams are. Getting this far has been extremely difficult for everyone. Teams like Burgos or Eibar, with a huge number of points, are not the ones enjoying these kinds of matches. We’re not thinking about other opponents. We’ll congratulate whoever reaches the final, but we’re not thinking about who will win between Almería or Castellón.”

Going out to win

“We approach every match, like we’ve said a thousand times, looking to win. We don’t know how to do it any other way. Since that’s our habit, it won’t be any different now. We perform worse if we try to do anything else. They understand that clearly, and so do we.”

Emotional state

“In terms of morale, it’s the same as always. Living the games with passion, commitment, excitement, and enjoyment, not as a way of taking pressure off, but because that’s how we approach it. The journey will end when it has to end, but the path will have been worth it. There’s no better way to enjoy it with them than to give everything you’ve got. To be bold, ambitious, and capable of enjoying the moment. And for people to go home feeling it was worth watching the team. That’s our intention once again, and hopefully the result gives us the chance to enjoy it a little bit more.”

No favouritism

“We’re focused on trying to repeat what we’ve already done before. We need to do it more often. We’re confident we can do it again by bringing back everything we showed before, confidence, strength, and security. We’re reinforcing the values of this group. But we know we have to go out and do it all over again.”

Possible match plan

“We believe that, probably, energy management will be different. That brings its own specific challenges. In key moments during the season, when things were really on the line, Jonathan Viera started those matches. There may be changes we need to take into account, but you can’t change that many things from one day to the next. In this game, it will be important that when we win the ball back, we’re effective in the final third.”