GARCÍA PIMIENTA: "WE COME INTO THE GAME FEELING STRONG, DETERMINED AND WITH BELIEF"

Xavier García Pimienta spoke at the pre-match press conference ahead of the derby on Sunday evening. He began by emphasising that “it is a special match, a different atmosphere and we are looking forward to it. The team comes into the game feeling good. I would have liked to have had all the players available in training to prepare for it but we have good players. Yesterday was the first session we had with everyone available after the international break and there are no fresh injury concerns. Everything else is good, we are training well and tomorrow we have the last session at the stadium." 

“Everything adds up, the derbies, and I've already experienced it, are special matches. The league standings don't matter, the form goes out the window, the losses. At home we played very well. Now the standings are different, but that has nothing to do with IT. We come into the game feeling strong, determined and with belief that if we do things right we can get the three points," he added. 

“We have prepared well for the game, there are no excuses, and we are more than ready.”

Our head coach also pointed out that “we had the motivation of it being Navas' last derby and now we wants to be with us now too, we will have him around. We have many homegrown players who have that feeling and also the people from the club. We know that we have to face it in a different way and we have prepared well, there are no excuses and we are more ready to play away from home." 

“We are now in the final third of the season, where the real things are at stake. We have 36 points and if we get three more it will give us a boost for everything to come and fight for important things. Knowing what the match means, getting a win would be very important for us," he said. 

"We'll see who is capabale of showing their best version" 

"Each one uses the weapons they have, but if we don't play a good match there, we won't take the three points. Respect, without fear of anyone, but knowing that if we are at our best, we are capable of beating anyone. It's about playing a match similar to earlier in the season, without making mistakes, overcoming different situations, the mood of their fans, and trying to make everything play in our favour," said García Pimienta.

"Betis have very good players, they combine well, they have a lot of quality. There will be moments for everything, we will have to limit their strengths, but here we played a very complete match. We can't just defend, we handle different styles well, counter-attacking, conceding few chances while staying compact. Knowing all that, we'll see who is capable of showing their best version, hoping that it will be us," he mentioned.

"I think it's great that the clubs get along, it's something logical, and I at least value it in a very positive way," he concluded, referring to the relationship between both clubs.