Javi Gracia: "We come into the derby feeling good, with courage and with confidence"

Javi Gracia spoke to the press alongside Paco López in a joint pre-match press conference for Matchday 27 of the LaLiga season.

The importance of the derby
"There is something special about this game, with it being a derby, and the points at stake have added value. As professionals, we are aware of this and we try to do our best, because for the fans it means something extra. We want to improve our showings away from home, something that is not difficult bearing in mind the recent games we have had."

Analysing Levante UD
"Levante UD have a great coach. Paco López is a great coach and he is helping them with the job that he is doing. The strength that they have as a team, shown throughout the season, has led them to have a brilliant campaign in the Copa del Rey and be in a good situation in LaLiga -one that I am sure they want to improve. Levante UD are working with different formations and we have to be prepared for that."

Absences in the derby
"Besides the absences for both teams, we come into this one feeling good, with courage and with confidence. We know that we will have players missing,  mainly due to suspension, but we are ok. The team have worked well during the week and we are excited."

Winning to keep growing
"We want to have a good game and win, keeping faithful to the work we are doing and to the improvement that has been seen more consistently in recent games. The improvement must remain constant, for us to get the three points against opponents that we know are a great team. It will not be easy at all."

Return of Cheryshev
"We are close to having him back. The player is feeling better and is training on the pitch. He has not yet joined the group. He feels good and we are optimistic, but it is difficult to see him being ready for Friday."

Performances away from home
"It's true that our last two showings away from home have not been good, but I would like to be fair on the team's performances on the road throughout the season. We have had some good games, getting good results as the away side. We acknowledge that in the last two away trips we have not been at our best level and we have to change that for the next game."

Strength as a team
"Many things have been done well so that we have the players available to us that we currently have. The players are doing well and we have very few injuries. I would like to say that the absences that we will have due to suspensions are ones that we can cover with proven players. The strength we have as a team makes the absences we have less of a debilitating factor."