MADRID, 25 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Athletic Club seeks this Sunday in San Mamés to get closer to continental positions against Girona (2:00 p.m.) in a twenty-fifth day of LaLiga Santander in which Sevilla hopes to leave behind the European scare and continue growing in the domestic competition against Osasuna in full crisis of results (9:00 p.m.) and in which RC Celta and Real Valladolid want to get out of the lower zone.
The people from Bilbao, who next Wednesday face Osasuna in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals, interrupted a series of two consecutive victories at the Cívitas Metropolitano (1-0); their defeat and Rayo’s tie against the Sevilla team left them seventh with 32 points, two of the Madrid players.
Meanwhile, Girona forgot their setback in Cádiz (2-0) -which was the third in their last four games- with a crushing home win against Almería (6-2). With this, Míchel’s men (27) distance themselves from the bottom of the table and leave the relegation positions five units below.
Ernesto Valverde will have the safe casualties of Dani Vivian, who will have to serve a one-match ban, and the injured Ander Herrera and Ander Capa, but in return he gets Iñigo Martínez back. The Catalans will have to deal with the absences of Ibrahima Kébé, Yangel Herrera and Yan Couto and they will once again have Valery Fernández.
At the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, Sevilla receives Osasuna after playing with fire in their Europa League tie against PSV, which they finally managed to overcome; the 3-0 draw at home relaxed Jorge Sampaoli’s men excessively, who conceded a 2-0 draw in the second leg in Eindhoven that almost cost them their place in the round of 16.
For the duel against the Navarrese, the Argentine coach will now be able to count on the Moroccan goalkeeper Bono, absent at the Philips Stadion due to gastroenteritis, and ‘Tecatito’ Corona is already training normally, but continues with the infirmary full: Karim Rekik, ‘Papu ‘ Gómez, Loïc Badé and Marcao will not be available.
Jagoba Arrasate’s team, already with one eye on their cup duel, hopes to put an end to a streak of five games without winning -two defeats, the last one last week against Real Madrid (0-2), and three draws-, which has made him fall to tenth place with 30 points, four from Europe.
Neither Rubén García nor Rubén Peña will be available for the rojillo coach, who also has doubts about Nacho Vidal, with a hamstring injury. In return, he will be able to count on Ante Budimir, absent from several training sessions this week due to a cold.
Finally, RC Celta and Real Valladolid, both tied at 24 points -two more than the relegation zone-, face a direct duel in Abanca Balaídos to avoid burning, after leading an almost identical path in recent days -two victories , two defeats and a tie-.
The Galicians interrupted their series of two consecutive victories by falling at home against Atlético (0-1), and last day they took a draw at the Reale Arena (1-1). The blanquivioleta team, for their part, ended their good run, with victories against Valencia (1-0) and Real Sociedad (0-1) and a draw against Osasuna (0-0), at the Benito Villamarín (2-1).
The Peruvian Renato Tapia will have to serve the first of the three games of sanction for contempt of arbitration and joins the casualties of Agustín Marchesín and Óscar Mingueza in the group from Vigo; Jordi Masip, Kenedy, Darwin Machís and Anuar, injured, will not be available to Pacheta.
–SUNDAY PROGRAM IN LALIGA SANTANDER.
Athletic – Girona. Díaz de Mera Escuderos (C. C-manchego) 14.00.
Celta – Valladolid. From Burgos Bengoetxea (C. Vasco) 16.15.
Almeria – FC Barcelona. Ortiz Arias (C. Madrid) 18.30.
Seville – Osasuna. Polished Santana (C. The Palms)