Elche vs Granada CF preview - Escriba plays down favourites tag



Posted Saturday, October 26, 2013 by PA

Elche coach Fran Escriba insists his side are not the favourites in Saturday's game with Granada, in spite of their superior form.

Escriba's side beat Real Betis away from home last week to win their third consecutive game and move up to 10th in the Primera Division table.

Granada meanwhile have four points fewer than their opponents and are on a downward spiral, taking just four points from their last six matches.

They were beaten 2-0 at home by Getafe last week and after the game fans called for coach Lucas Alcaraz to be sacked.

But Escriba played down his side's chances in his pre-match press conference, warning: "We aren't the favourites in this game, because Granada are an excellent team, and if we drop off a notch, we will struggle."

Escriba also highlighted Alcaraz's side's defensive qualities, with only six teams in the league conceding fewer than the 10 goals they have let in this season.

"They might not score many goals, but they let in very few. Their results have been worse than what they have deserved."

He added: "Getting four wins in a row in this division is very difficult and is only within the reach of the top clubs. We don't think about going on runs, we aren't interested in statistics, the most important thing for us is the next game."

Left-back Domingo Cisma is suspended from the game following his red card against Betis, while Christian Sapunaru has been ruled out with injury, and Edu Albacar is a doubt.

Granada defender Pape Diakhate is suspended after getting sent against Getafe, whilst forward Piti and midfielders Dani Benitez, Matias Campos and Hassan Yebda are all out with injuries.

Referring to Diakhate's sending off, midfielder Fran Rico told reporters: "Obviously we have to improve in many areas, but the main error we made against Getafe was to go down to 10 men."

And he was optimistic about his team's chances of getting something at Elche, declaring: "We have been playing better away from home recently.

"We are very excited about playing this game because it's been a long week after the defeat, and we head to Elche with all the enthusiasm in the world."



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