Mendilibar names 19-man squad for trip to A Coruña
Rubén Peña has an issue which makes him a doubt, resulting in a call-up for Asier Etxaburu from the club's second string, CD Vitoria
José Luis Mendilibar has named 19 players in the squad for today's game against Deportivo La Coruña given the injury concerns over Rubén Peña, who is a doubt for the clash.
Faced with the unavailability of both Florian Lejeune and Gonzalo Escalante through suspension and in view of the fact that the first-team squad currently contains 20 players, Mendilibar has drafted in Asier Etxaburu from the club's reserve side, CD Vitoria to make up the squad.
The squad list is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Riesgo and Yoel.
Defenders: Capa, Dos Santos, Gálvez, Ramis, Juncà and Luna.
Midfielders: Dani García, Christian Rivera, Adrián, Etxaburu, Pedro León, Rubén Peña, Inui, Jota and Bebé.
Forwards: Sergi Enrich and Kike García.
Mendilibar previewed his side's trip to A Coruña in yesterday's pre-match press conference, where he had the following to say:
"I see the team as being in good shape. The last couple of games in pre-season saw us put in our best performances and this week in training the players have been lively, have worked at a good tempo and are raring to go. I believe that we're going into the season in good shape and in fine form".
"We take things calmly, whilst we want to win every game, we can't go thinking about what'll happen if we don't win. It's important to get off to a good start, but we mustn't get too obsessed about it".
"Our playing style will be similar to last season's. Our systems may vary, but what I want is to have a footballing philosophy that the players understand and for us to be able to operate with various systems. I'm easy as to which of the systems we use. Last season we employed various systems whilst remaining faithful to our footballing identity. This year we'll see the same thing. Ultimately a lot of players end up dictating which system you're able to employ. We've got the players to allow us to play in different ways, whilst always maintaining the same ideals".
"I hope we add to the squad. I think that the team is looking very good, but with just 20 players we're really light on numbers and the season is a very long and very tough one".
"Depor are capable of playing in different ways, they may apply pressure during some spells and then sit back at other times. They've got pacey forwards who allow them to sit off and then break away or alternatively who can put you under pressure. Gaizka (Garitano) led Eibar up through the leagues and took them into the top flight, so it'll be a special game for him".