SEVILLA - REAL MADRID
Sampaoli: "It's crazy to see Sergio Ramos and Sevilla divided"
The coach, who admitted he has not yet decided on his XI, said: "We've got to make it impossible for Madrid to play their game".
Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli admitted he has not yet decided on his XI for tomorrow's meeting with Real Madrid - the third time the two teams have met in 11 days. But the Argentinean did says he hoped fans could patch things up with former player Sergio Ramos, who angered supporters by not just putting himself forward to take a penalty in Thursday's Cup tie, but then struck it Panenka-style which Sevilla fans felt was highly insensitive.
Tension: From the football side of things we have been preparing to put in a great game against the league leaders; it would really be a boost to morale if we can gain ground on them. We only hope that the players go into tomorrow's game in the best possible conditions, that's all.
Peeved fans: To be honest it's not something I've spoken to the players about and I'm not exactly well informed about what the problem is. What I will say is that we are only thinking about the game and we're going to do the best we can to get a good result.
Line-up and tactics: It's difficult to imagine that we will be able to reproduce a performance in which Sevilla completely dominate Real Madrid. It's going to be extremely demanding for us but we have to go into it with the mindset of making it impossible for Madrid, knowing that the atmosphere at our stadium is going to be more electric than usual for what happened on Thursday.
Are Madrid a different side when Cristiano plays? Yes, because we are talking about decisive players who hold a lot of importance in the pecking order in their team and that means we will be more problems developing our gameplan. But then they will also lose certain characteristics which allowed them to play like they did on Thursday.
Jovetic: He has a chance of starting the match, but only the same chance as Ben Yedder - or both. It's the first time that I have been undecided on the team on the eve of a game. We have a plan in place but not the players who are going to carry it out. Those who played on Thursday, played so well that it's given us a selection problem.
Ramos' Panenka penalty: I don't think that taking a penalty Panenka-style is a lack of repect to the rival team. I am really sorry about all of the things that happened after the penalty because he is one of our former players, who came through the system here and hopefully at some point there can be a reconciliation. It's madness to see Ramos and Sevilla divided like this. It's not for me to say whether the gestures deserve punishment. I am not fully aware of the rules on such things and besides, I am not interested. I am more worried about tomorrow's match.
