Matarazzo confident Oyarzabal will feature as Real Sociedad visit Betis | OneFootball

Matarazzo said Mikel Oyarzabal will feature and stressed alignment with the club on transfer targets as Real Sociedad begin their season at Betis.

According to Diario Vasco, the head coach used his pre-match TV slot in Sevilla on Friday to keep the focus on today’s options, saying his players are good enough to beat Betis.

He said Oyarzabal is fine, started training two weeks ago and is happy, after being cheered by the home crowd during the warm-up.

He opened with a joke about his Spanish, saying he has improved but prefers to speak English for now, and may switch in two or three months.

Mindful of last season’s narrative and the night of 18 April, he urged calm and asked everyone to start from scratch, not to compare campaigns.

On La Cartuja, he said the memories are good and the energy is real, but this is a different match and he wants a strong start.

Betis boss Manuel Pellegrini called for a big effort to chase Champions League qualification, saying it demands a lot and that there is still time to build the strongest squad possible.

He believes more players are needed, with more departures than arrivals and shirt numbers spare. On Isco, he said the playmaker can play, his condition fluctuates, yet whenever he plays he is decisive.

He also praised Real Sociedad as Copa champions and long-time European rivals, predicting a difficult game.

Source: Diario Vasco

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”