"It is clear that they are the team to beat because of their history, because they have been relegated from the Segunda, because of their budget, their fans and the city, as well as what they represent for Spanish football. But it is a match that everyone wants to play, and we are looking forward to it," said the Murcia-based team's coach.
Regarding the competitiveness being seen in the division, he explained that "no one wins on reputation because it is a very difficult and evenly matched league. It makes no difference who you play, because none of the 20 teams in the division will make it easy."
THE MATCH ANALYSIS
This will be the second match at Ibercaja Estadio so far this season, something Cartagena took into account when analyzing the game: "We have analyzed the three matches, but we looked most closely at the one against Antequera because it will be the most similar to ours. We have to find Real Zaragoza's weaknesses and exploit them, and I think it will be a very competitive match for both sides."
Vélez expects Ibai Gómez's team to want "to have possession because they are playing in front of their own fans," but his plan is not to withstand the Aragonese side's attacks. Instead, he intends to go toe-to-toe with them for the full 90 minutes.
Regarding playing the match at Ibercaja Estadio, he was very positive, saying that "hopefully every match had 20,000 people in the stadiums," showing that he is not afraid of Zaragoza's supporters.
As for absences, the coach confirmed that his entire squad will most likely be able to travel to Zaragoza, although there are doubts over Marcelo and Boston because they have not completed a single training session this week.
