Espanyol has been preparing for Friday’s match at Mestalla since Sunday, while Valencia has returned to training this Wednesday. Two ways to prepare for the last meeting of the course, marked by COVID-19 positives that affect all teams. In the blue and white, according to the club’s official status, there are five players and two members of the coaching staff.
Sergi Darder is not looking for excuses (“We have to adapt, we will not complain. It can affect how injuries, we have to live with it”) nor does it get wet if the appropriate thing was to suspend the meetings of the weekend: “It does not correspond to me. We have to play and we will be delighted to do so, we are focused on training and playing ”.
La Liga Santander
* Data updated as of December 29, 2021
In this context, the Blue and Whites hope that a victory against Valencia will end the drought away from home and complete a “bestial” first lap, in the words of the Mallorcan, always ambitious and positive. “The first lap is good, but can be improved as always. 2021 was a very good year. We ascended and we are now well. It is difficult to chain two games in a row winning, we already see the difficulty. So to finish with 26 points would be something beastly ”, he reiterated.
Darder expects a “complicated” match against Valencia “uncomfortable, with good and intense footballers. We know what awaits us ”. But the Majorcan, the cornerstone of Vicente Moreno’s Espanyol, feels strong: “We have beaten several great teams, and Valencia is too. If we give it our all, we can. We come from a bad match against Celta, but away from home we played well, although we lacked that victory. We know that we must improve, that points can not be scored only at home “he commented.