Neestrup: 'We have everything to play for'
F.C. Copenhagen head coach Jacob Neestrup gave his assessment ahead of Wednesday's UEFA Champions League last-16 second leg at Manchester City, and believes his side are up for the fight.
Neestrup is missing a number of players through injury, including Viktor Claesson and Rasmus Falk. Sitting beside him at Tuesday's press conference was William Clem, who has been slowly picking up game time since returning from injury.
"Clem is sitting here because we would like to use him (on Wednesday), and he will be in the starting line-up, but not with the captain's armband," said Neestrup.
No Falk or Gonçalves
Not only is Falk missing for the tie but Diogo Gonçalves hasn't travelled with the squad either. On the pair's absence, Neestrup said: "It's absolutely not because we underestimate the match, but Falk had a blow to his knee a long time ago, which has caused him some problems. If he were to play tomorrow, there was a substantial risk that he would not be able to play on Sunday.
"Diogo has had some problems with his ankle, but both are expected to be ready if I want to use them on Sunday.
"I'm perfectly fine with this match, it's no problem at all. I know very well that we are behind and have to play here against the best team in the world and that it is close to impossible and all that. But we are good enough to play in the Champions League last-16, both for our own sake and for the sake of Danish football, so we will do our best tomorrow.
"I have a lot of focus on coefficient points. That is why we must not lie down. Yes, it is close to impossible to progress, but with luck and skill, the match can sway in our directions. A goal or to, among other things, can make a difference in relation to Denmark's coefficient ranking, so we have everything to play for. And the players know that too.
"We saw against City in Parken last season that you can be down for 35 minutes, and then one situation can change the dynamic. Of course we have to chase those situations."
"A whole bunch of keys"
When asked what will be the key to a good result, Neestrup noted that a whole set of keys is needed, before answering more specifically.
"First of all, it will require good defending," he said. "We will play low for large parts of the game, as all other Premier League teams do when they play here, but I was satisfied with the way we defended deep in Parken, where we kept them away from much in the second half. However, on the other hand, we found it difficult to lift that pressure. So tomorrow we want to put together the passes that mean that there will not be a massive pressure on our goal.
"We had hoped that we could press them more in Parken, as we succeeded, for example, when we scored the goal, but it will probably be more difficult here. So we have to accept that we will play deep and that it can be difficult to play out because they are so technically good on the ball and so tactically good at playing in the spaces where we have difficulty finding room. But suppose we just take six, eight, 10 minutes away from their massive pressure, then that's where the possibilities lie for a slightly more advantageous gameplan for us."