14:33h CEST

Diego Pablo Simeone faced the media ahead of the home game against relegation threatened Galician side Deportivo la Coruña.

-How do you see the game against Deportivo?

-They have a great coach with plenty of charisma and they have deserved better fate in recent times. They come into the game desperate for a result and we need to keep our recent positive run. I always looked forward to games against Seedorf as a player and I hope he has the same success on the bench as he did on the pitch.

-Will Costa be rested?

-He seems to have picked up a knock and I want guys on the pitch who are 100% fit to play

Full screen DIEGO COSTA FELIPE SEVILLANO (DIARIO AS)

-Your recent meeting with Dybala has sparked plenty of speculation...

-It pains me to see all sorts of mis-information sparked off from this. We bumped into each other at a restaurant. I was eating alone and he was with two friends. I told him that he was a fine player and that's the height of it. There are people from the media who do a great job and others who fail to do so... The world needs constant new information and I'm happy to see when things are reported correctly.

-Do you feel competition for places will be determined by so many players missing with injury?

-No as from Thursday onward we'll have the likes of Vitolo, Griezmann, Giménez back and fit..