UD Almería defender Rodrigo Ely sat down with the media at the Power Horse Stadium press room to look ahead to Friday's fixture against direct rivals in the race to stay up. RCD Espanyol de Barcelona have picked up more points away from home than on home turf and besides, they are the third side that has obtained the best results after the Qatar World Cup break.

The 29-year-old Brazilian has assessed the Rojiblancos' latest run of results and has stated how important it would be reaching the halfway point of the season with more than 20 points: 'We'd be closer to our objective, so the sooner we can add them, the better,' especially 'against direct rivals,' he said.

Rodrigo Ely made it clear that 'it'll be a really tough game; we know about the quality of the opponents and we'll try to do our best when defending to block their attacks.' However, the centre-back has highlighted the Rojiblancos' commitment: 'We play in front of our fans at home, where we're strong. We're going to give it our all and we truly hope to win the match.'

The powerful central defender spoke of the latest scores achieved by UD Almería in the LaLiga Santander: 'We're now a more mature team and we can face any adversaries. We've managed to step forward take and we just have to keep it up.'

As for the starting spots, Ely explained 'whoever plays is going to do it well, we're all really important and whoever gets picked out will contribute and help the team.'

Before finishing his press conference, Rodrigo Ely thanked the UD Almería fans for their unconditional support: 'We greatly enjoy their company, their chants and cheers, how they belt out the team's anthem every time we walk out onto the pith... all this encourages the players and we want them to continue supporting us because we have more battles to face together. If we're so strong at home it's thanks to them.'