Marcelino: "Defending deep would be a mistake against FC Krasnodar"

In his pre-match press conference ahead of the big UEFA Europa League game against FC Krasnodar, Valencia CF coach Marcelino spoke about what he expects from the trip to Russia with a 2-1 advantage.

The gameplan
The idea that we have to have, and the best way to go through, is to try and score goals. We should be looking to score when we have the ball, and defend well without it, because FC Krasnodar have quality and talented players. We have to be well balanced, as we have been throughout the competition, and have the ambition to score and be effective in the box -which is what decides these ties.

Staying back and defending deep would be a mistake on our part. I predict an even game; we have to defend very well, but always looking to score.

Snow in Krasnodar
This extraordinary stadium is blessed with a modern infrastructure, and I'm sure that it has everything necessary to guarantee the match will be played at the highest level. The pitch is in perfect condition.

Cheryshev's fitness

He is perfectly fit and he's in with a chance of playing tomorrow.

Going 13 games unbeaten
We never want to lose and we always play to win. It's an important statistic, not to have lost since the game against Getafe, but it doesn't mean that we can't lose tomorrow. That will be down to the work that we do on the pitch and if we can nulify FC Krasnodar, with high performance and effectiveness.

Team characteristics
The team have a clear playing philosophy. We try to attack and always look to work well defensively to regain the ball and counterattack. It's a weapon that we have, and the more we can use it, the more times we will be able to create danger. We have fast players on the wing and inside, and the idea is to be a balanced side. A goal for us would require Krasnodar to score three. They know that a goal for us would put them in a more difficult situation.