Osasuna looks for Europe against Coudet’s Alavés and Real Sociedad also wants to look up in Leganés
MADRID, 7 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Athletic Club and Villarreal face a direct duel this Sunday for fourth position in San Mamés (4:15 p.m.), in a sixteenth day of LaLiga EA Sports in which Osasuna aspires to assault the European positions in the league debut on the Deportivo Alavés bench by Eduardo Coudet (6:30 p.m.) and in which Real Sociedad also wants to look up at the home of Leganés (2:00 p.m.).
The ‘lions’, who on Wednesday surprised Real Madrid (2-1) in the early match of matchday 19, have already won three league matches – those of Real Sociedad (1-0), Rayo Vallecano (1- 2) and the whites-, four if you count the Europa League victory against Elfborg (3-0). In total, ten consecutive games in all competitions without losing since October 6 when they lost to Girona.
Their good numbers place them in fourth place – with one more game – with 29 points, eight behind the leadership of FC Barcelona – with the same matches played – and three ahead precisely over their rival this Sunday, a Villarreal that arrives touched to the appointment after his setback in the Copa del Rey.
Pontevedra, from the Second RFEF, managed to eliminate them in Pasarón (1-0) and certified the streak of three games in a row without achieving victory; In LaLiga, the Castellón team tied its last games against Osasuna (2-2) and against Girona (2-2). Despite everything, Marcelino García Toral’s team, who returns to what was his home between 2020 and 2022, are fifth (26) with two games less.
Ernesto Valverde will have, a priori, the only absence of Ander Herrera, and will have both Oihan Sancet and Nico Williams, who worked on the sidelines this week. The ‘Yellow Submarine’, for its part, will regret the absence of the suspended Sergi Cardona – due to an accumulation of cards – and the injured Ilias Akhomach, Nicolas Pépé, Juan Foyth, Ramón Terrats and Alfonso Pedraza.
In El Sadar, Osasuna will have the opportunity to end its series of poor results and rise to sixth position against a Deportivo Alavés that, with the help of ‘Chacho’ Coudet, hopes to move away from the danger zone and leave the cup debacle behind.
The Navarrese, who have 23 points, are just one behind RCD Mallorca, which occupies sixth place; The defeat of the vermillions on Friday in Balaídos (2-0) will leave them the possibility of getting into continental positions if they are able to defeat the babazorros. To do this, Vicente Moreno’s men will have to break a streak of three games without winning in LaLiga – against Real Madrid (4-0), Villarreal (2-2) and Sevilla (1-1) -.
In the Vitorian team, the Argentine coach, who arrived to replace Luis García Plaza, had a disastrous debut when he lost in the Cup penalty shootout against Deportiva Minera, and now hopes to make up for his regularity in the competition. The team is sixteenth after three games without winning and has accumulated 14 points, only one more than those that mark the relegation places.
The rojillos will lose Bryan Zaragoza, who underwent surgery for a metatarsal fracture, until February, and they will also be without José Arnáiz. The Basque team will only have to deal with the loss of Hugo Novoa, with pubalgia.
Finally, in Butarque, Real Sociedad hopes to recover against Leganés after the scare of the Cup, when they needed extra time to eliminate Conquense, to aim to climb positions in the table, where they are ninth (21) three points behind the privileged positions.
After losing in the Basque derby, the team bounced back, beating Ajax at home (2-0) in the Europa League and Real Betis (2-0) in the league competition, and has accumulated three consecutive games without conceding; In fact, only Atlético de Madrid (8) receives fewer goals than the San Sebastian team.
Leganés has more urgency, fifteenth with 15 points, two more than the danger zone, and which has not been able to win in any of its matches against Real Madrid (3-0) and against Alavés (1-1) . In the Cup, they had to resort to penalties to avoid being surprised by Estepona.
Aritz Elustondo, Arsen Zakharyan, Beñat Turrientes, Orri Steinn Oskarsson and Hamari Traoré will be absent from the ‘txuri urdin’ team, while the cucumber team will regret the losses of Dani Raba, Eric Franquesa, Darko Brasanac and Sébastien Haller.
–SUNDAY PROGRAM AT LALIGA EA SPORTS.
Leganés – Real Sociedad. González Fuertes (C. Asturiano) 14.00.
Athletic Club – Villarreal. García Verdura (Catalan C.) 16.15.
Osasuna – Alavés. Soto Grado (C. Riojano) 18.30.
Atlético de Madrid – Seville. Alberola Rojas (C. C-Manchego) 21.00.