A reborn Getafe puts Sevilla to the test at Pizjuán

Sevilla and Getafe resolve this Sunday a duel between two teams with the very marked stamp of their respective technicians, Julen Lopetegui and Quique Sánchez Flores, in one more test for the resilience of the Hispanics, second despite their numerous casualties, and the ambition of the azulones to continue their climb.

The sevillistas, who are 5 points behind the leader, Real Madrid, and with one game less, officially solved their cup-bearer clash in Zaragoza (0-2) to get into the eighth of said tournament and, although the whim of the bass drum they He has in store for next Saturday a derby against Betis, now they don’t even want to hear about that appointment.

Lopetegui and his squad, who are resisting at the top despite their numerous casualties – now aggravated by the march of the Moroccans Bono, En-Nesyri and Munir to the Africa Cup – are clear that they must focus on a rising Getafe and who wants to get away from the danger zone as soon as possible.

For now, and after his great season in the League that has led him to add 13 of the last 15 points (4 wins against Villarreal, Athletic Club, Atlético de Madrid and Cádiz) and a 1-1 draw at home against Barcelona), the Nervionenses want to leave behind everything that smells of that derby cupbearer to try to follow in the wake of the leader and with an 8-point advantage over the third, precisely Betis.

Sevilla is aware that Getafe will not make it easy for them, although they also trust the encouragement that their fans give them to solve another commitment, always difficult in Lopetegui’s ideology and in his respect for all rivals, in their stadium, where he remains undefeated in the League (7 wins and 2 draws).

He recovers in the League the French central Jules Koundé, after his suspension against Cádiz, and the winger Jesús Navas and the wingers Suso Fernández and the Argentine Erik Lamela remain injured for a long time. They are joined by the three Moroccan internationals and the Danish midfielder Thomas Delaney, while it is doubtful the Dutch central Karim Rekik, who had a muscle problem in the warm-up against Zaragoza.

Meanwhile, Getafe will arrive at the meeting in their best moment of the course after beating Real Madrid 1-0 and chaining two consecutive days out of the relegation places. The work of Quique Sánchez Flores, Míchel’s replacement after the eighth day, has paid off for a club that until not long ago seemed evicted.

With Míchel on the bench, Getafe added a point out of 24 possible. With Quique, 17 of 33 and the hopes of permanence remain intact. Now, for the Madrid club a small contented euphoria reigns. The coaching staff applauded the victory against the leader, but it did not take long to show their players the videos with all the mistakes they made against Real Madrid.

And it is that, Quique does not want an excess of optimism in their ranks. For the Getafe coach, Sevilla is one of the best teams in the League and he expects tension among his men to try to defeat the second in the table. Winning the leader and his chaser in just seven days would give Getafe a tremendous boost in their goal of staying in the First Division.

You will have to try with some serious casualties. Specifically, that of two key players: the Uruguayans Mathías Olivera and Mauro Arambarri, who will have to serve a penalty game. The first will be replaced on the left side by Jonathan Silva, while the second position will be occupied by the Portuguese Florentino Luís.

Nor will they be able to travel to Seville, except for surprise, four other names: Sabit Abdulai, seriously injured in the summer, the Mexican José Juan Macías and Chema Rodríguez, both with muscle problems, and Vitolo, who is in the last phase of his recovery.

Togolese Djené Dakonam will return to eleven, who missed the match against Real Madrid due to accumulation of cards. The Uruguayan Erick Cabaco, who successfully filled his hole, will return to the bench.

Time: 16.15.

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Positions: Sevilla (2nd, 41 points). Getafe (16th, 18 points).

The key: Sevilla’s ability to overcome their numerous casualties and the wear and tear that, therefore, has accumulated and the impudence of a more rested Getafe, since, eliminated from the Cup, they did not play during the week.