Espanyol, two plans for Elche

It has not been an easy week for the coaching staff of the Spanish. After playing and beating Cádiz on Monday, this Saturday they are measured at Elche (18:30). Just four training sessions to prepare for a game that has a certain complexity: Fran Escribá’s team alternates between two game systems that determine Espanyol’s plan. And that has caused the Blue and Whites to go to Martínez Valero with two strategies in mind.

The technician himself has commented on it in the press room: “We did a double preparation of the game. We do not know what position they will have on the field, if with four or five defenders. Another thing is that the idea and the players are similar, but there are different connotations. The information we gave to the players was greater“The line-up and the game plan will also depend on it.

“We look at everything, we take it into account and we weigh it. We take advantage of all the tools, we know that it is a week of three games, but we only think of Elche. We look at the sensations beyond the data, but we no longer plan in the next meeting“, also argued the Valencian coach, putting in value the work that is done in the coaching staff when preparing the matches and managing the squad.

A squad that will know this afternoon will travel to Elche with news: it will not be Javi Puado (“He had been away for two months and is not yet in condition. He does not have a medical discharge”), but yes, with nuances, Aleix Vidal (“I still have to talk to the doctor to find out how much I can count on him”). Too Yangel Herrera, although “it would be irresponsible for me to put him to play 90 minutes, you have to go calmly”.

Moreno is aware that “winning three games in a row is very difficult” and sees the team on the right track but “with room for improvement.” Elche, the coach warns, is going to put the blue and white in trouble: “They have players who may be more or less known, but some are international. The coach has experience. Upstairs they are brutal, good defenders with physique and quality. They do it well.”