The Spaniard is taking Wolves into Tuesday’s replay with Liverpool on the back of a big three points in the Premier League on Saturday, but the short turnaround has given him little time to dwell on that success. Lopetegui says he’ll leave it until the final moments to assess his players’ fitness on Tuesday morning, but insists he’ll have a team ready to fight to overcome their opponents.
On the win providing momentum
“It’s always a good thing to win, of course. We work for that, so they are three important points, but that is all. It’s going to be a very hard and long run, so we have to be ready. These are three points, and we have to continue.”
On assessing player fitness
“You have to look at it. You have to look at the feeling of the player, and in the end, you have to take a decision. You have to know what players you can believe in or not [about fitness], because all the players want to play all the games, but sometimes it’s better to know the truth, to take a best decision, because it’s about picking the right team for each match.
“The line-up we are thinking, but we have to check how our players are, in the last moment. They are going to be better than today. We play at 8pm, not 3 o clock, it’s different, and we have the morning of tomorrow to take the decisions.”
The pitchside view of @daniel_podence's winner on Saturday.
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 16, 2023
🎥🍿 pic.twitter.com/RjFabJaCpA
On the differences to the first tie’s preparations
“It’s more or less the same. Maybe they can change something, maybe not, but we put the focus on what we want to do. It’s true when you play with only three days, it’s not a lot of time to prepare, because the players are tired the next day from the match.
“After, it is pre-match, so you have to balance the time, to be able in one moment to work with the team for tomorrow. I think tomorrow morning we’re going to check more on the players to take last decisions.”
On Costa’s condition
“Diego is better. We have to check tomorrow morning to see if players are fit not or to help us to play.”
On welcoming Liverpool
“I think Liverpool are one of the best teams in the world. The qualities of their players, the quality of their coach, their history. They are going to come here looking to play a big match and we have to be ready to overcome them. The FA Cup is going to be an important aim for them and us too. We have to fight to be able to overcome a fantastic team.”
