On Sunday afternoon, RSCA will travel to KAA Gent for Matchday 7 of the Champions’ Play-offs. RSCA currently sit fourth in the table, while the Buffalos are two points behind Sporting in sixth place. Four days before the cup final against Union, Jérémy Taravel hopes his side can build confidence in Ghent. “I underlined the importance of this match all week long,” the coach said during his pre-match press conference. Watch the full press conference on Mauve TV.
The coach will not have his full squad available on Sunday. “Nathan Saliba is still unavailable due to a hip issue. We are assessing how to get him fit for Thursday’s cup final, but the match against KAA Gent comes too soon. Killian Sardella is still suspended.” Enric Llansana and Moussa Diarra - who suffered a blow to the head against Club last weekend - will also miss the trip to Ghent. Nathan De Cat is ready to play 90 minutes.
Will the coach rotate heavily against KAA Gent with the cup final in mind? “No, that will not be the case. This match is important for us in the race for fourth place, which we absolutely want to secure. Again, it is not my habit to rotate heavily, rest players and put everything on the cup final. We simply have two important matches in a short period this week. It is up to me and my staff to manage this situation and decide which players to field so that everyone is fit for kick-off, both on Sunday and Thursday.”
Mentally, it can be difficult to stay fully focused on the next match with the cup final approaching. The coach acknowledged that as well. “I experienced the same thing as a player when I played the cup final with Lokeren. In your mind, you are focused on the upcoming match, but at the same time you already look ahead to the final. Everyone wants to play that game and naturally it comes up often. It is my role as coach to channel that and make sure the players stay fully focused on the game against KAA Gent because - and I repeat myself - it is also a very important match for us, both for the standings and for our confidence.”
KAA Gent could overtake RSCA in the standings in case of a home victory. “They are a team with two faces,” the coach said, expecting a difficult game. “They alternated some very strong performances with weaker ones. They have a solid defensive block and are well organised. Offensively, they play to their strengths and caused us quite a few problems in our previous meeting with their long balls towards Wilfried Kanga. It will be crucial for us to break down their defensive structure and win enough second balls. That is something we worked on during training this week.”
Kick-off on Sunday, May 10 at 1:30 PM at the Planet Group Arena of KAA Gent.