Quique Setién's plan: "Try to steal the ball from Barça"
The Real Betis coach says the two sides have a similar style but "Barça have been doing it for 25 years and us, a year a half"
Real Betis coach, Quique Setien, is ready to remain loyal to the style of football he's created at the club despite coming up against league leaders FC Barcelona. "We're going to try but I don't know if we'll be able to do it. Barcelona have been doing this for 25 years and Betis only a year and half," pointed out Setien. "The reality isn't always the same. We want to have the ball so we are able to pressure further up the pitch. That's what we'll try to do: play our style of football however we can and try to steal the ball from them."
In saying all that, Setien knows that against Barça his side are likely to spend more time defending than they are reaching Marc-Andre ter Stegen's goal. "When we don't have the ball we'll need to defend really well." That must be a concern for Betis as defending is an area where they've been quite weak recently.
Betis also need to improve their success in front of goal. "There are people who live to score goals and they've rediscovered that confidence. Although in saying that, I believe we can still be sharper in front of goal and take more of the chances we create."
What worries Setien the most is what happened against Milan. "We created five clear chances to score which we weren't able to finish off." The coach values the fact they are creating more chances than their rivals however and insists he'll remain loyal to his ideas. "I believe that things will click at some point."
There's also the possibility of Betis being forced to play a rotated side at the Camp Nou on the back of competing in seven matches over the last three weeks. "I'm sure they will be some changes. In certain areas we need to be fresh. There are some tired players but they feel better today than they did yesterday."
