Juan Balanta: I have high hopes that we will secure our first victory in the Europa League tomorrow

"I have high hopes that tomorrow we will secure our first victory in the Europa League."

This was stated by Juan Balanta, the Colombian central midfielder for the Armenian champions, Ararat-Armenia, during the pre-match press conference.

In the third round of the Europa League group stage, the Armenian champions will host the Dutch side AZ Alkmaar on October 22 at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in Yerevan.

"The second-round Europa League match against Jagiellonia did not go well for us. After scoring the opening goal, we conceded and were unable to control the game. We will aim to keep a clean sheet in tomorrow's match.

I am currently in optimal form and will do my best to help our team in tomorrow's game.

It is challenging for us to play a match every three days. We have a deep squad, and the coach manages to ensure that we field a strong lineup and display an intense style of play in every match.

Tomorrow, we will face a very strong team. There are many powerful teams in the Europa League, and AZ Alkmaar is one of them. We are looking forward to enjoying tomorrow’s match at our home stadium, together with our fans. I am very hopeful that we will secure our first victory in the Europa League tomorrow.

The Armenian championship is of a very high standard, featuring highly intense matches. This helps us stay in good form.

The preparation is the same before any match, whether it’s for the Europa League or the Armenian Championship. The mindset remains the same for both competitions: to earn as many points as possible," said Juan Balanta.

In the second round of the Europa League, Ararat-Armenia lost 1–3 in an away match against the Polish club Jagiellonia. In the first round, held at the Republican Stadium, the team, led by manager Manuel Tulipa was defeated 0–2 by the Czech side Sparta.

The match between Ararat-Armenia and AZ Alkmaar will kick off on October 22 at 20:45.

Lusine Shahbazyan

Photo by Emma Asatryan

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