Valverde on Vivian, Sancet, Berenguer, Yuri Berchiche, Padilla, and Real Sociedad

Athletic Club

The situation of the injured players

59

Daniel Vivian
1.150.000€-180.000€    3

J1

DF

00

83

Álex Berenguer
3.640.000€-100.000€    2

J1

MD

22

96

Yuri Berchiche
2.710.000€-350.000€    5

J1

DF

10

35

Sancet
2.790.000€+90.000€    10

J1

MD

01

“Yuri does not have a muscle tear and we hope to have him back soon. For tomorrow, it's a bit difficult because we need to proceed with caution as it is a strain, and we will see if we can recover him for Sunday. Berenguer will not be available, while Sancet trained partially yesterday and Vivian, apart from the issue he had, has come with a virus. We have brought Duñabeitia and Eder García to train. We also have a few players with small strains”.

The goalkeeping plan

0

Álex Padilla
160.000€    3

J1

PT

00

“Tomorrow Padilla will play again”.

The emphasis on duels

“It's a classic when you play against Real. You have to be attentive to that and also to the game. They have already shown here that they are a good team and can handle themselves in various aspects. We have to be very attentive to all of that. The other day we drew with them in a match that had become uphill for us. It's not a definitive match, unless something drastic happens, but considering the derbies played, they have been quite balanced”.

Recalling the last derby

“Matches are often viewed through the lens of the final result. Everyone analyzes it as they see fit. It is true that they are a good team. From a technical point of view, they have many qualities, they are strong in defending against side crosses... We have reviewed the match and will try to maintain what we did well and improve on what we did not do so well. I envision a close match, taking into account previous situations”.

The team's competitiveness

“In general terms, that's how it is. Except for the match against Barcelona, in a very clear way, or the day against Celta, when we were coming from very good matches against Atletico and PSG. Starting from Celta, everything went wrong for us. We lost the rest of the matches by a hair. We need to review and improve certain aspects. Our intention is to have enough skill so that if we can't win, we can draw. We don't speculate too much about it, but we have let games slip away due to details. Tomorrow is not the League, it's a knockout match, and goals matter”.

Supporting youth

“More than the ID card, we look at X-rays and ultrasounds to see how they are. We won't take risks to avoid playing with anyone impaired, but that is also something the Real coach will do. If you have experience, it's always a plus, but the younger ones always have a bit more energy”.

The atmosphere

“I expect a great atmosphere at San Mamés. We are at the same distance as Real to reach the final, and we will take it step by step”.