Bernd Schuster knows the importance of a win at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán on Sunday to gain the first points of the season: “We’re determined to come home with a win and get some points in the bag from this match. I hope we can continue Málaga CF’s good run of results from previous games in Sevilla, and either get a draw or a win before next week’s League break. We’ll do our very best and have been working hard all week in preparation. The team has taken a lot of positives from the last two defeats.”
Málaga Club de Fútbol is up against a difficult rival: “We all know Sevilla, and it’s crucial that we match their level of intensity. The team is ready for this game and we’ll be looking to step up our attack on Sunday. It’ll be a very intense, fast-paced match against Sevilla who are pacey on the pitch, with quality players such as Rakitic, who’s dangerous with long shots at goal; Marin who plays a very technical game etc…They focus a lot on the wing, which tends to lead to goal chances, so we’ll have to be on guard,” affirms the German-born coach.
Schuster talks about the possibilities of El Hamdaoui making his debut with the Blue and Whites: “My intention is that he plays on Sunday, but not in the starting-11. I’d like to see him in action during the match, even though it may be too soon. El Hamdaoui will work well alongside Roque (generally speaking). I think he’ll provide us with different options in the future.”
Finally, the ‘Malaguista’ coach refers to possible new signings before transfer deadline day on Monday: “Right now I’m focused on the team I’ve got. I don’t think any new players will be joining us now. With regards to Portillo, he’s doing well in training and will support the team a lot in the future. Eliseu has been in group training without any problems, but it still may be difficult for him to play an entire game. He’s a lot stronger now following his injury, but it’s too soon for him to last the 90 minutes. We’re still looking at Juanmi, and with the addition of Mounir we’ve got four strikers, so it’s tough. We only want the best for him, and if he stays here it’s no problem at all for me.”
