Xavi held a press conference on Wednesday afternoon ahead of Thursday’s away game in the league against Las Palmas. Here, the Catalan stated that Vitor Roque is expected to be registered and available for Thursday’s clash.
Read Xavi’s statements here:
The fight:
“It will undoubtedly be a very difficult match tomorrow. Together with Girona, Las Palmas must be said to be the biggest positive surprise of the season. We know their coach García Pimienta very well from his time with us and he is a fantastic coach. They want to play just like us, so it will be a battle to have the ball”.
Christmas break:
“The break around Christmas and New Year has been positive for us, so we have been able to reset and start fresh. I have seen some very fresh and motivated players return to training, but now it’s about showing it tomorrow”.
Vitor Roque:
“I expect him tomorrow. We still need to sign him up, but I expect it to happen before the game tomorrow. He will definitely be selected for the squad, but we also have to remember not to put too much responsibility on his shoulders. He is only 18 years old and he needs time to adapt. My first impression of him is very positive”.
Alex Garcia:
“It is correct that I would like to see him at Barca, but we have not spoken to him or to any other player. Now we have to see how the finances look in this transfer window and see what we can do”.
Peter:
“He’s doing well and progressing. I expect him to be back in the next few weeks”.
The plan against Las Palmas:
“This season we have played several good games, but where we have abused far too many chances. Tomorrow our objective is to create as many chances as we have done in recent games, where we have had over 30 finishes in 90 minutes. Then it’s just a matter of making use of them”.
Roque and Lewandowski:
“It’s going to benefit both of them that they’re now two strikers. There’s not going to be any problems at all between the two of them”.
What worries you the most?
“My concern is mostly with our defence. Last season we were absolutely fantastic in defense and conceded very few goals, but this season we have given way too much away. It is true that we need to be more effective in attack, but if we keep conceding so many goals we won’t win anyway”.
Can you win titles?
“Yes, I honestly think we have the team to win titles. I see how the players are training and how motivated they are. We are looking forward to the last half of the season and believe we can achieve something big”.
