Mendilibar: "Atlético are a very competitive side and it'll be a really tough game"

José Luis Mendilibar today spoke to the press ahead of Sunday's meeting with Atlético Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano. On whether the continental crown secured by the Colchoneros on Wednesday night was likely to work in his side's favour, the Armeros' coach responded: "Ahead of games like that you always ask yourself whether it would best for them to win or lose. They won and will have ceremonies and celebrations... that's perfectly normal. I don't know whether they'll have trained ahead of the game, but even so they're a very competitive side and will be tough opposition. Whilst it's true that it's not a bad time to play them, we know that they're a really competitive team", Mendilibar commented.

The Armeros have failed to pick up any points in any of their seven meetings with Atlético. "I don't think we've ever managed to beat them in the top flight. Eibar have recorded victories over them, but not during our time in charge. But that run will have to come to an end at some point and I'm certain that it'll now be easier to put a stop to it. If we'd have picked up a lot of points against them it would be different, but the fact that we haven't means that we're closer to doing so. Let's see if we manage to put in a good performance, compete and head into the closing stages of the match with a chance of taking something from it. If they score an early goal they're capable of being patient, holding out and scoring another at any time. Let's see if we manage to keep ourselves in the game right until the end", Mendilibar said.

When quizzed about the prospect of ending the campaign in ninth spot, the Eibar boss noted that "At the moment we're the team that have the best chance of finishing in ninth. It's a big ask, but La Real, Girona and Alavés also have tough games. Our destiny is in our own hands, which is the main thing. My target has always been to finish in the top half and let's see if we can do it.

The Armeros chief announced that he'll not be naming his squad list until tomorrow. He did however reveal that "We've picked up a few more injuries this week. Taka [Inui] took a knock and hasn't been able to train, nor has David Juncà. I don't know whether any of the injured members of the squad will be able to take part in our final session. I've got 18 players available including the three goalkeepers and Xesc [Regis] from the feeder team. We'll go there with the players we've got and try and win the game".