Manuel Pellegrini warns: Betis can’t trust stats vs Osasuna

Manuel Pellegrini, coach of Real Betis, asked for caution as he prepared the eighth-round LaLiga clash at La Cartuja against Osasuna on Sunday, coming after the long international break. The “Ingeniero” feels the team is in good shape but believes the stop was too long: “three weeks is a lot to pause a championship.”

He also addressed preparation and workload: there were no friendly games scheduled in that window and they face “eight or nine matches in less than a month.” On the matchup itself, he was blunt about relying on figures: “the worst thing we could do against Osasuna is trust the statistics.”

On availability, he said Marc Bartra is back and training normally, while Ruibal returned to the group today after an injury that kept him out for practically three months. He added that Diego Conde will continue to be assessed after a complicated injury and that the squad list will be confirmed after meetings with the medical and fitness staff.