MADRID, 18 One. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Sevilla FC will try to recover from the elimination of the Copa del Rey suffered in the controversial Seville derby and get closer to the leadership of LaLiga Santander this Wednesday at Mestalla (9:30 p.m.), in a twenty-first day in which RC Celta and CA Osasuna (7:00 p.m. hours) face each other in search of establishing themselves in the middle of the table and moving away from danger.
Since the defeat in the ‘Champions’ against Salzburg at the beginning of December, no one had managed to beat Julen Lopetegui’s men, who only dropped points in the domestic competition against FC Barcelona (1-1). However, the tense derby interrupted its streak of seven games without losing and did so abruptly after falling after the restart of a match that had been suspended at the stroke of halftime with 1-1 after the aggression from the stands against Joan Jordán and with Julen Lopetegui angry at the decision to have to play despite not having the midfielder.
Now, the team from Nervion will have to put aside the elimination and focus on the League, where things are going much better. With one game in hand, they are second (44) five points behind the leader Real Madrid, from which they could be just one victory away if they are able to beat a Valencia team that also needs to react.
José Bordalás’ men did not fail in their cup date with Atlético Baleares (0-1), but in the domestic championship they have suffered two consecutive defeats against Espanyol (1-2) and Real Madrid (4-1), which put an end to a series of three wins in a row and that made him move away from the European train again.
The ‘che’ team registers 28 units, four from a continental area marked by Barça, the last of their tough rivals for the next four weeks along with Atlético de Madrid, Real Sociedad and Deportivo Alavés. “Many talk about the difficult calendar we have, but the reality is that we cannot think beyond it. The calendar is difficult and complex, but this is football. We play at home and our obligation is to win,” said the coach from Alicante.
The sevillistas recover Jordán after the incident, although Lopetegui did not confirm if he will start him in a midfield where Fernando is also a doubt, which could open the door for Gudelj. In addition, the coach did not reveal either if he will be able to count on Marko Dimitrovic in goal or if the youth squad Alfonso will occupy it again as in the derby. Suso Fernández, Jesús Navas and Érik Lamela are safe casualties.
For its part, Valencia, which hopes to recover its strength in Mestalla and compete better than in the first round when it lost 3-1 after conceding three goals in the first 22 minutes, is awaiting the tests to see if it can count on Helder Costa and a Wass who could be very close to Atlético. The good news is the return of Carlos Soler, while Marcos André could see his cup-bearing goal rewarded with ownership to the detriment of Maxi Gómez.
CELTA AND OSASUNA LOOK TO GO ONE MORE STEP
In addition, in Balaídos, Celta and Osasuna, separated by only two points and facing their first game at home and away -respectively- of the year, they aspire to take another step to try to get away from danger and get closer to the top of the table. classification.
The Galicians (23) opened 2022 by assaulting the Benito Villamarín (0-2), a result that meant their third consecutive day scoring points, but their surprising cup elimination against Atlético Baleares (2-1) and the defeat against Real Sociedad ( 1-0) rescued the doubts in the field of ‘Chacho’ Coudet.
Meanwhile, the Navarrese team (25), also eliminated in the Cup by Girona (1-0), got fresh air with a win at home against Cádiz (2-0) that allowed them to forget a disastrous streak of ten league games without winning .
Augusto Solari and Renato Tapia will return to the sky blue team after overcoming their respective injuries; While Jagoba Arrasate has problems at the back since he loses Unai García and David García, both with coronaviruses, and he cannot count on Aridane either, so the young Unai Dufur will be central along with Juan Cruz. Kike García will be able to be there, although he will have to play with a mask, and Lucas Torró will also be able to help after suffering a rib crack a few days ago.
–WEDNESDAY PROGRAM IN LALIGA SANTANDER.
Celtic – Osasuna. Lamb Vega (C.Cantabro) 7:00 p.m.
Valencia – Seville. Cuadra Fernández (Balearic C.) 9:30 p.m.