Firstly, the ‘Malaguista’ coach talks about the players suspended from tomorrow’s match: “The players banned from this game are not included in the line-up, as they can join the group without a problem with it being a home match. With regards to Friday’s selection, there are two changes. In midfield we’re missing out on Camacho and Duda, but we’ve got another two who I’m confident will play well tomorrow. We’re achieving positive results now and I have faith that these players will perform well and help us win the game, although it won’t be easy. Despite the changes to the line-up, we need to continue along the same lines; work together and maintain a pacey attack. With regards to Flávio in midfield, we know he can play in this position, but without Sergio Sánchez it might be tricky, so he’s going to join Weligton as centre forward. It’s important that we look ahead as we’re playing really well at the moment and everyone at the team wants the opportunity to get on the pitch.”
Schuster talks about the danger of RCD Espanyol: “I’m sure we’ll see a very serious rival tomorrow. They’ve got an important derby against Barcelona at the weekend, so will be wanting to secure a win at our ground. The usual quality players will be in action, and looking at their away game stats, we know what we’re up against. How we perform tomorrow will be crucial; I like to watch football matches with a lot of goals, and if it’s us scoring, then even better. Espanyol always defend well and have very quick players such as Sergio García and Córdoba. We’ll try our best to cause trouble for the rival and generate as many scoring opportunities as we can.”
The German-born manager isn’t happy with the high number of suspended players: “It’s very easy to book the Málaga players, as we saw the other day, especially in home games. We’re not an aggressive squad, but we appear to be an easy target and receive a lot of bookings. We never show any violence on the pitch at all.”
Finally, Schuster is confident his boys will secure a win in front of their home crowd: “We really need to win in front of our fans tomorrow at La Rosaleda, following two important away wins. There are a lot of vital points to be earned from home matches, and our fans will help us get them.”
