LOPETEGUI: "WE WILL HAVE SOME DIFFICULT MOMENTS DURING THE MATCH, AND WE'LL NEED THE FANS' SUPPORT"

Julen Lopetegui spoke to the media on the eve of the visit of Atlético de Madrid. After the team's last training session before the match, the coach commented on tomorrow's opponents: "We're looking forward to facing the LaLiga champions, they're an impressive team with top-class players in every position and we obviously need all our energy to be able to face them. From then on we'll see, we have to wait from today until tomorrow to make decisions regarding the squad". 

Lopetegui was then asked about specific players, Youssef En-Nesyri in particular: "En-Nesyri completed part of the training session alongside Lucas and Marcos, but we'll decide tomorrow. We'll hope they get the all-clear, Youssef hasn't got it yet. Some are a bit better than others, quite a few of them are only just back and tomorrow we have to make a decision based on how they get up". The coach then spoke about how tough it is to face Atlético de Madrid at the moment: "We've had a very tough month with few players available and every single one of them has put in so much effort. We approach every competition with excitement, now we're focusing on a great match against a team that have made really good signings. It's such a difficult match but we'really excited. We can't think about what we prefer or not, instead we must adapt to reality and that is that we're coming into this after another match that went to extra time. We can't change that, but we can change our mentality and the way we compete". 

He then highlighted the role of the crowd in this type of match: "The warmth, energy and drive from our fans are always vital. It's a bonus that helps us to put in more effort, and also during tricky moments". To finish, as well as confirming that Óliver is ruled out and that the club would keep up to date with news regarding AFCON, he spoke about the Copa del Rey format, before knowing our opponents: "I like the cup format, playing at the apparently weaker rival's ground is good because of the surprises. Another thing is that there has to be some requirements where the player is protected and the other team is given a chance".