Alessio Lisci: “I Expect the Team’s Best Version”  

Osasuna head coach Alessio Lisci spoke to reporters Thursday ahead of Osasuna’s match against Levante UD on Friday at Ciutat de València Stadium.

“It’s a very difficult match,” Lisci said. “They’re on an incredible run at home, picking up a huge number of points and beating almost everyone, aside from the draw against Girona in the last minute and the Villarreal match. That already shows how difficult this game will be. We’re facing an opponent that desperately needs points because of its position in the standings, and it should make for a great end-of-season match.”

Lisci said he expects “the team’s best version because any other version wouldn’t make sense.”

The Osasuna coach added that Friday’s game could effectively determine the club’s European hopes.

“It’s very likely tomorrow will be do-or-die,” he said. “It’s not 100 percent certain, but there’s a strong possibility. It also depends on whether there’s an extra European place available or not. But we can’t go to the Ciutat looking to speculate. It doesn’t matter to us. We’ve prepared the match to win. There is no Plan B. If things don’t go our way, then we’ll do the math afterward.”

Lisci also emphasized the importance of improving away from home.

“We want to take three points away from home again,” he said. “We need to look as much like the team we are at home, and we haven’t been able to do that. It’s obvious, and we can’t make excuses. We’re working on it and hopefully we can achieve it.”

Asked what he does not want to see from his players Friday, Lisci said: “I don’t want to see a team that doesn’t control the details, a team that doesn’t play with the urgency and desire to win, a team that doesn’t inspire the fans in the stadium or those watching on television. I don’t want to see a team that isn’t Osasuna — one where the supporters look at it and say, ‘That’s not my team.’”

Discussing Levante, Lisci said the club has become more balanced under its new coach.

“Levante, with the coaching change, is a much more balanced team both in attack and defense, and that has helped them improve a lot in transition play,” he said. “They’ve improved significantly on set pieces and have evolved a lot since the first half of the season, and the numbers prove it.”

Lisci added that he expects a strong start from the home side.

“I think they’ll come out very aggressively, as they usually do at home,” he said. “Their starts at home are very good, and there’s great chemistry between the fans and the team in those moments. Their supporters always push and always help.”

“It’s going to be a very psychological, emotional match,” he added, “and we’ll need to know how to manage those moments of maximum pressure.”