Atletico Madrid captain Gabi insists Los Colcheneros are focused on this weekend’s game against Sevilla and not the forthcoming derby.
Atleti take on arch rivals Real Madrid a week tomorrow but must first face a Sevilla side buoyed by a derby victory of their own, 5-1 against Real Betis last Sunday.
“In the dressing room nobody is talking about the derby, as on Sunday we have a very important match for our aspirations,” the defensive midfielder commented at the launch of a play to be performed in Madrid.
“We respect every opponent, and Sevilla have great players, but we have no fear of them.”
Gabi then discussed Jose Antonio Reyes, who was the hero of the aforementioned derby win and will be particularly fired up on Sunday as a former Atleti player.
“We know it will be an extra motivation for Reyes. The match against Betis boosted his morale and we expect him to be at his best.
“They have two significant casualties, Alvaro Negredo and Gary Medel, but we know they can do well out with Sevilla. Our next four games are all very important, but we must think of Sevilla because winning against them would give us a morale boost going into the derby.”
