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Moreno: "Celta will give us a difficult game"
The coach's pre-match press conference before LaLiga Matchday 31
Vicente Moreno talked to journalists in his pre-match press conference on Saturday, before RCD Espanyol take on Celta Vigo. Much interest surrounded the availability of Raúl de Tomás, who had missed the previous contest against Real Sociedad.
"He will be in the squad, but we will wait until the last moment to see if he features. If we were playing today, it would be easier to say that he wasn't going to play, but since there are still hours left and Raúl always wants to feature -he is always committed- we will wait until tomorrow. Depending on how he is, we'll decide. Although he won't be at 100% today or tomorrow, he is ok to be in the squad. We'll see if he'll play for a while or from the start," said Moreno, who also listed his alternatives if the team's top scorer does not get minutes.
"Loren Morón is also an option, as are Puado, Dimata and Wu Lei, who is working well and can give us a lot depending on the opposition."
Asked about Celta, Moreno analysed that "they are a team at a high level and it will be a difficult game. They have the ability to take the ball away from teams, and have great individual quality."
The team will be keen to put Monday's controversial defeat to Real Sociedad behind them, and the coach insisted “that game has been forgotten. We have full confidence in the referee for this game."
Regarding the team's aspirations for this final stretch of the season, Moreno insisted that the first objective, survival, “has not yet been achieved."
"We can still climb positions. Then there are many things to achieve, such as getting better numbers in Cornellà, gaining positions against Celta, Osasuna, Valencia and those who are within our reach. There are many incentives to compete for between now and the end of the season. I wish that we had even had more matches, in order to achieve more things.”