West Ham United will face a strong Tottenham Hotspur away from home in the 8th round of the Premier League, and Hammers boss Lopetegui gave a detailed update on his team's injuries and preparations at the pre-match conference.
Lopetegui began by talking about the team's injury problems: "As we have a lot of international players playing for different national teams, they are not all back yet. It's always a difficult situation, but it's happened to a lot of teams in the Premier League, so we have to be able to cope with it and be ready for the weekend. Phil Kruger missed the game with an injury and we are waiting for him to recover. He was thought to have a minor injury at first but then complications arose and now we don't know how long he will be out for, so we will have to wait and see."
On the importance of the away game against Tottenham Hotspur, Lopetegui said, "We are happy to win in the last round, but now we are 100% focused on the next challenge. Tottenham are one of the best teams in the Premier League, they have great players and a very good style of play, and the intensity of the game is high. We can't be fully prepared for the game yet as the players are not all back yet, but that's no excuse. It's a derby, but we have to focus on the game itself and concentrate on the field, which is no different from any other game."
Speaking on the topic of Tuchel's coaching of the England national team, Lopetegui sends his blessing and expresses his opinion: "Congratulations to him for becoming the England manager. Coaching work is always accompanied by pressure, no matter which team you coach, because you need to win the game. As a national team coach, the players are not always by your side and you have to get them ready in a short period of time. But, as a coach, you always have the pressure to win, whether you are coaching a club or a national team."
Lopetegui spoke highly of West Ham United's playmaker Kudus: "He's a good player and a player for us. We will make the most of him. He has improved in many ways, works hard every day, is very responsible and we are very happy with him."
On the question of whether English coaches are capable of coaching England, Lopetegui opined, "All English coaches are good, but only one can be the manager. The FA chose Tuchel and it was their decision. I don't have anything to say except to congratulate him. England also have very good coaches and Southgate has led well before."
Finally, Lopetegui spoke about how to break through Tottenham's high defense and win the game: "We will try to break down the opponent's defense, play well and win confrontations on the field. We have to find all the answers, but the strategy I won't reveal here. Every game is important for us and every away game is different from the last one. What has impressed me the most since taking charge of West Ham United is that the players are always focused, they work hard and know they have to work very hard every day to achieve something."
