Isaías says with a strong squad Adelaide United can beat any team including Melbourne Victory, ahead of the pair’s massive Elimination Final at AAMI Park on Sunday night.
The Original Rivalry returns to the Hyundai A-League Finals Series for the first time since the 2009 Grand Final.
The Reds come into the clash with a lot of confidence after edging Western Sydney Wanderers 3-2 in Round 27 of the regular season and are unbeaten in four of their past five matches.
Melbourne, meanwhile, suffered a 1-0 loss to Sydney FC to end their campaign but pulled off a plucky 2-1 victory over Shanghai SIPG on Wednesday night in the AFC Champions League.
Isaías said the team are looking forward to this game with a great sense of anticipation.
“It’s a very exciting game, it’s a very important game for us,” Isaías said at Adelaide Airport.
“And we’ve almost been preparing for this game all season, so it’s an exciting time.”
Adelaide have never won a finals match on the road, but the 31-year-old was not fazed with history against his side.
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Isaías added that having a full squad to choose from, with the exception of Džengis Čavušević, gives United a sound chance of upsetting their arch nemesis.
“I think it’s very important that we arrive in this moment of the season with a full squad,” he said.
“And I hope with all the players we can damage Victory again.
“I think we’ve a very strong squad and we can beat anyone.”
The Spaniard warned the Reds will have to be cautious when building up from the back and avoid making errors given how dangerous the Victory can be in transition.
“We know the strengths of Melbourne Victory and we know how we need to play if we want to win there,” he said.
“They’re very aggressive and press very high and we shouldn’t have too many mistakes.
“If we don’t have many mistakes in our build up it’ll be much better because they’ve a very good transition game.”
Adelaide United face Melbourne Victory in the Hyundai A-League 2017/18 Elimination Final on Sunday, 22 April at AAMI Park. Kick-off is at 5.30pm ACST.
