Mallorca and Real Sociedad seek to get the semifinal on track in Son Moix
Aguirre's men will try to assert the support of their fans to have an advantage against a strong Real team at home
MADRID, 5 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
RCD Mallorca and Real Sociedad meet at the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix this Tuesday (9:00 p.m.) in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals, a first match of the tie in which the Balearic Islands will try to go to the duel in Donostia with an advantage, while that the 'txuri-urdines' want full away victories in the cup competition and thus get closer to the second final in the last five years.
Mallorca had not played in a Copa del Rey semi-final since 2009, so its rival, Real Sociedad, has more experience at this stage of the competition, seeking this season to repeat the title it won in 2020, the last time the Basques They were among the four best in the competition.
It will be the fifth cup semi-final that Mallorca has faced in its history, with a fairly positive balance so far. The Balearic Islands have made it to the final in three of the four penultimate rounds of the Cup they have played, being eliminated just the last time they reached this stage of the competition, at the hands of Pep Guardiola's FC Barcelona, who would end up winning. the treble that same season.
For its part, Real Sociedad has been much more assiduous in these rounds throughout its history. This Tuesday will be their 19th semi-final, having passed 8 of the previous 18 times (44%). Furthermore, the Guipuzcoan team has overcome three of the last four semi-final ties it has played, losing for the last time in 2013-14 also against, precisely, FC Barcelona.
As for precedents, the last time Mallorca and Real Sociedad met in the Copa del Rey was last season, in the round of 16, and on that occasion Imanol's team qualified after winning the Reale Arena thanks to a solitary goal from Robert Navarro. Furthermore, both teams also met in the round of 16 in 2012, in a two-legged tie that the Balearic Islands won after overcoming a 2-0 deficit in the first leg with a historic win (6-1) in Mallorca.
In this third cup duel between the two, Mallorca arrives after two consecutive defeats in the League, the last after conceding a rout against Athletic Club (4-0). Results that do not tarnish the great performance of Aguirre's team since December, where in both the League and the Cup they have only been defeated in three of the 14 games they have played. Good balance that, if only the home games are taken into account, becomes notable. Mallorca has only lost one game in the last 11 in front of its home crowd, and in the Cup it has just eliminated Girona.
For its part, Real Sociedad has built its way to the 19th semi-final in its history away from home. Against Mallorca, the San Sebastian team will play the sixth game of the edition and the sixth away from the Reale Arena. A handicap that does not seem to have affected them too much this campaign, and that is that, among all the competitions, of the 22 games they have played away from home, they have only been defeated in three – Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid and Athletic Club – .
A good run in the Copa del Rey that both teams have built on defensive solidity. Of the teams remaining in the competition, Real Sociedad and Mallorca are the two that have conceded the fewest goals. Imanol's men have only seen their goal pierced once, while Aguirre's men have done it twice.
Beyond the defensive level, the Mallorcan forwards are living an idyll with goals in the Cup. Abdón Prats is the top scorer in the competition with six goals, and has just scored a double in the quarterfinals against Girona, while Cyle Larin has marked in each of the last three crossings, as well as in the 1/64 tie.
In the case of Real Sociedad, the goal is much more distributed and up to five players have managed to find the net, with Oyarzabal being their particular 'Pichichi' of the Cup with two goals. And Imanol's men are having a hard time reaching the goal in the competition, and with seven goals, of the four semi-finalists, they are the team that has managed to score the fewest goals, with an average of only 1.4 despite having faced up to three rivals from non-professional football categories.
Regarding the casualties section, Javier Aguirre will be able to count on the entire squad for the momentous match with the exception of the injured Maffeo and Raillo, the latter suspended, while Imanol has the absences of Carlos Fernández, Aihen Muñoz, Tierney, Sheraldo Becker and Odriozola , although he recovers Hamari Traoré and Take Kubo, who are returning from the Asia and Africa Cups, respectively, and who have missed the last six matches of the 'txuri urdin' team.
DATASHEET.
–POSIBLE ALIGNMENTS:
RCD MALLORCA: Greif; Giovanni González, Valjent, Nastasic, Copete, Jaume Costa; Antonio Sánchez, Mascarell, Darder; Muriqi and Abdón Prats.
REAL SOCIEDAD: Remiro; Traoré, Zubeldia, Le Normand, Javi Galán; Mikel Merino, Martin Zubimendi, Brais Méndez; Oyarzabal, Sadiq and Barrenetxea.
–REFEREE: Muñiz Ruíz (C. Gallego).
— STADIUM: Mallorca Son Moix Stadium.
–TIME: 9:00 p.m./La 1 and Movistar+.