Atleti B faces a new opportunity to advance to the Second Division. The rojiblanco team finished the League in third place, a competition suddenly ended in March due to the coronavirus health crisis, and will play the promotion playoff to a single match aware that if he wins three heats he will return to the silver category, in which it has not participated since the decline of the first team in 2000 forced Atleti B down despite having saved the classification on the grass.
Nacho Fernández traveled last Saturday with 22 of his footballers to Marbella to prepare for the game on Sunday 19 (Nuevo Mirador de Algeciras, 20:00) against Sabadell, the first stumbling block that Atleti B will have to overcome if they want to climb to Second. Conde, Joan Rojas, Calavera, Toni Moya, Darío Poveda, Óscar Clemente, Borja Garcés, Ricard, Sanabria, Mejías, Adbe, JC, Solano, Medrano, Tropi, Camello, Germán Valera, Cedric, Mario Soriano, Saldaña, Tenas and Carlos Red They are already in the Andalusian city working to get to the match in the best physical shape, after four months without competing in the official match. Mainly Poveda and Borja, who have not yet been discharged and are working day and night to be well. First broke his knee in December when he had 10 goals in 10 league games and had debuted with the first team against Granada.
The Asturian coach did not cite three of his capital players, Manu Sánchez, Álvaro García and Riquelme, since they were summoned by the first team for the match against Betis, although they did not participate. The left back has established himself as the substitute for Lodi, Álvaro reinforced the center line with the loss of Giménez by injury and Riquelme an attack that he did not have João Félix. The expulsion of Hermoso will probably keep Álvaro on the next list against Getafe, while Manu is already a fixture and Riquelme will depend on the Portuguese's physical condition.
The problem comes with the end of the League. Atlético, already mathematically classified for the Champions League next season, receives the Royal Society on Sunday 19 at 9:00 p.m. In other words, a match that coincides with the time that Atleti B will play. In the event that Simeone uses second-team players, as he has been doing throughout the season, they will not be able to be in the big event against Sabadell, where defeat would mean elimination. Now that the calls can be up to 23 footballers, Cholo has a first team of 23 players, but Vrsaljko is not available. In addition, Lodi, Llorente, Saúl and Morata They are warned of sanction, so if they are cautioned against Getafe they will not be on the last day.
Simeone could choose a shorter call, since the maximum number of substitutions is five, but also for giving minutes to those homegrown players. If there are casualties like the one in Lodi, Manu Sánchez's presence seems capital. Nacho Fernández points out in AS: “If we can ascend it would be great, but the important thing is to supply footballers for the first team. If the first team needs them for that we are. If they can go down, we are not going to say no, it would be a very good situation, but we are not concerned. The kids who keep working and if Cholo can give you a welcome opportunity be. If in the end the first team has more than enough and they have the objective achieved, nobody doubts the quality of our players who are with the first team, but if that is not possible, nothing happens. There are footballers working very well with us. They are ready to participate and there is no problem, the important thing is that the first team meets its objective. “The needs of the first team will determine the players that the Asturian coach will have.