Rubi: 'We're facing a high-voltage match'
The UD Almería head coach is confident in his squad’s ambition ahead of crucial game at the Ibercaja Stadium. Both teams have a lot at stake
UD Almería head coach Joan Francesc Ferrer Sicilia, known as ‘Rubi’, has described Saturday’s trip to Zaragoza as a ‘high-voltage’ encounter, stressing that both sides have plenty at stake. The head coach is fully aware of the challenges his team will face at the Ibercaja Stadium against opponents ‘fighting to survive in the division’, but at the same time he expressed strong belief in his squad, who are ‘focused and showing great ambition and desire to deliver in every match.’
UD Almería, currently sitting second in the table, take on Real Zaragoza, who are battling in the relegation zone. Nevertheless, Rubi was keen to highlight: ‘Stats can be interpreted in many ways, but one clear fact is that our next adversaries have only lost 3 of their last 9 matches. Since 9 November they haven’t been beaten by more than one goal and they're coming off a win over Cádiz CF, which will have significantly boosted morale within their squad. They're also playing at home and will put us under pressure... that’s only natural. At this stage, every team are pushing to the limit to achieve their objectives.’
'Real Zaragoza will certainly put effective tactics into practice to try to beat us,' he added.
UD Almería head into the fixture in excellent form, unbeaten in 6 matches with 5 wins and 1 draw. As their head coach pointed out, ‘in the last 5 games we’ve scored 11 goals and conceded 5, which is not a bad return considering the risks we take in our style of play.’ Rubi believes his side have improved defensively, noting that ‘opponents are not creating as many chances against us now and that’s an area where we’ve made progress, along with other aspects of our game.’
Despite their strong position, the Catalan remains grounded, insisting that ‘in this league, anyone can beat you.’ He continued: ‘We'll fight to defend the second place we’ve earned, but if we lose it, we must not panic. We must keep working in the same direction. There's still a long way to go and we must stay cautious and fully aware of the level of this competition, because there are very good teams, even among those battling to avoid relegation.’