Bottom team Almería hosts Mallorca and Cádiz seeks to move away from the relegation zone against Las Palmas
MADRID, 16 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Real Sociedad and Real Betis, after their opposite results in Europe, face each other this Sunday at the Reale Arena (4:15 p.m.) for sixth position in LaLiga EA Sports, in a seventeenth matchday in which bottom team Almería will seek against RCD Mallorca its first victory of the season in the domestic competition (2:00 p.m.) and in which UD Las Palmas wants to get closer to the continental zone against a Cádiz that needs to avoid relegation (6:30 p.m.).
The San Sebastian team arrive at the event in a state of euphoria after securing first place in Group D of the Champions League thanks to a draw against Inter at the Giuseppe Meazza (0-0) on the last day. Before meeting their round of 16 rival on Monday, Imanol Alguacil's team will try to consolidate their position in sixth place in LaLiga.
Now, they have 29 points, the same as Athletic Club, fifth, and three more than their rival this Sunday, who would take the place if they attack Anoeta. The Basques, however, are strong after going eight games without losing since they lost at home to FC Barcelona (0-1) on November 4.
Opposite, Real Betis needs to lick its wounds after saying goodbye to the Europa League and being relegated to the Conference League by succumbing to Glasgow Rangers at the Benito Villamarín (2-3), the first defeat of the season in its field.
In the league championship, however, he has not given up since mid-September, when Barça also gave him a rout (5-0). Since then, the green and white (26), who last weekend tied with Real Madrid (1-1), have scored points for eleven consecutive dates.
All in the midst of the controversy that arose after the statements of the president of Real, Jokin Aperribay, after the club refused to offer tickets to Betic fans. “They can give us whatever sanctions they want, but no guy from Betis who comes to touch our balls is going to enter Anoeta. We cannot allow there to be radicals in Anoeta on the day in which Aitor Zabaleta is honored on the 25th anniversary of his murder, precisely, by ultras,” he said.
Brais Méndez, operated on this week for his ulna fracture; Ander Barrenetxea and Martín Merquelanz will miss the match for the local team, while Manuel Pellegrini will not be able to count on the injured Claudio Bravo, Guido Rodríguez, Nabil Fekir, Marc Bartra and Youssouf Sabaly.
At the Power Horse Stadium, Almería, last in the category, will look for a victory against Mallorca, the first of the season in LaLiga, which will allow them to harbor hope, with the safety spots increasingly further away. After 16 games, Gaizka Garitano's team has only four points, nine from the safety zone.
Even so, last weekend they competed at the Cívitas Metropolitano, although they ended up losing (2-1), and the previous week they tied against Betis (0-0), but in the Copa del Rey they were surprised by Barbastro (1 -0).
The vermilion team, for its part, moved away from dangerous positions with a victory against Sevilla (1-0), which made it reach 14 points, four more than the penultimate place. With this, Javier Aguirre's team has gone four games in a row without losing.
Once again, the Almería team will have numerous casualties, since Luis Suárez, Marc Pubill, Gonzalo Melero, Ibrahima Kone, Marko Milovanovic and Martin Svidersky are injured. Vedat Muriqi, Antonio Lato and Martin Valjent, also due to injury, will not be available for the Balearic Islands.
Meanwhile, Las Palmas wants to continue climbing the table and will try to do so at the Gran Canaria Stadium against Cádiz, which marks the permanence zone. With 24 points, Xavi García Pimienta's men are five away from Europe, all after two consecutive wins against Alavés (0-1) and Getafe (2-0), to which we must add the Cup victory against Tudelano (1 -2), although it needed the extension.
The Andalusians, for their part, are now focusing on LaLiga after saying goodbye to the 'KO' tournament against Arandina (2-1). Sergio González's team has drawn in the last three league games against Osasuna, Celta and Mallorca, all with the same result (1-1), but has not managed to win since September 1, when it did so against Villarreal (3- 1).
To the loss of the injured Fabio González this day, the suspended Sergi Cardona is added, and Eric Curbelo, Sandro Ramírez and Álvaro Lemos are doubts for the Canaries. The Cadista team will have to deal with the loss of Gonzalo Escalante while watching how the players Darwin Machís, Rominigue Kouamé and Luis Hernández evolve.
–SUNDAY PROGRAM AT LALIGA EA SPORTS.
Almeria – Mallorca. González Fuertes (C. Asturiano) 14.00.
Real Sociedad – Betis. Busquets Ferrer (Balearic Islands) 16.15.
Las Palmas – Cadiz. Muñiz Ruiz (C. Gallego) 18.30.
Real Madrid – Villarreal. Figueroa Vázquez (C. Andaluz) 21.00.