MADRID, 12 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Real Betis, third-placed in LaLiga Santander, hopes to prolong the euphoria against bottom side Levante (4:15 p.m.), on a twenty-fourth day in which Real Sociedad seeks to return to European positions against Granada (6:30 p.m.) and in the that Valencia parks the Copa del Rey to meet a Deportivo Alavés in trouble (2:00 p.m.).
At the Ciutat de València, Manuel Pellegrini’s men return to the league competition after hitting first in the Cup semifinals; goals from Borja Iglesias and William Carvalho made it possible to overcome Álvaro García’s early goal in Vallecas to reach Benito Villamarín with an advantage.
Before the second leg and Thursday’s Europa League match against Zenit, the Verdiblanco squad will try to settle in the ‘Champions’ zone and leave behind last week’s defeat against Villarreal (0-2), which interrupted two victories in a row and a streak of three dates scoring points in the competition.
Neither Martín Montoya nor Claudio Bravo will be available, while Juanmi, Canales, Joaquín and Camarasa are doubtful for a match in which Fekir will not have to rotate, suspended for the first leg of the round of 16 against the Russian team.
Levante (11) has many more emergencies, last in the standings 12 points from permanence and that cannot afford to continue failing if it does not want to confirm its relegation sooner rather than later. Alessio Lisci’s men began the year by winning their first league victory of the season against RCD Mallorca, but returned to their old ways, falling to Cádiz (0-2) and Getafe (3-0).
Now, they cling to their field, where they have achieved 9 of 11 points added so far, to try to react. Neither the suspended Roger Martí nor the injured Shkodran Mustafi, Sergio Postigo and José Campaña will be available.
THE ROYAL SOCIETY LOOKS FOR A JUMP BEFORE A GRENADA IN PROBLEMS
At the Reale Arena, Real Sociedad, who came to lead LaLiga Santander, need to break their irregular run of results against Granada to return to the continental positions, which Villarreal scores with the same 35 units.
In the domestic championship, Imanol Alguacil’s team has only won one victory in its last five games, and although it hasn’t lost since it did so against Castellón in mid-December, it hasn’t finished starting. In the last four days, they only managed to beat Celta and shared the points with Alavés (1-1), Getafe (0-0) and Valencia (0-0).
In addition, he has accumulated three games without scoring in all competitions, something that he will try to correct in a clash in which he will trust Oyarzabal and Isak again and in which Igor Zubeldia, Carlos Fernández, Nacho Monreal and Ander Barrenetxea will not be present.
They will face a Granada (24) that has not won since the end of December and that needs to win again to avoid falling into the pit. Six units separate him from the first of the burning positions, all after five days without achieving victory.
After drawing with Elche (0-0) and FC Barcelona (1-1), Robert Moreno’s men linked three defeats against Getafe (4-2), Osasuna (0-2) and Real Madrid (1-0). The Nasrid coach will not be able to count on Neyder Lozano or Santiago Arias, due to injury, and he is keeping an eye on whether Luis Maximiano, Antonio Puertas and Isma Ruiz recover from their positive results for coronavirus.
In the game that opens the Sunday day, in Mendozorrotza, the needy Deportivo Alavés receives a Valencia that also has to react in LaLiga Santander after five days without getting the victory.
José Bordalás’ men keep their illusion intact in the Copa del Rey, where after Raúl García’s initial goal they responded with another by Hugo Duro to achieve a draw in the first leg of the semifinals against Athletic Club (1-1), but in LaLiga they have harvested three defeats and two draws, the last one last week against Real Sociedad (0-0), in the last five dates.
The Vitorians, meanwhile, have not yet won in 2022, a year in which they have recorded two draws and three straight defeats against Betis (4-0), Barça (0-1) and Elche (3-1). With 17 points, they are six away from the safety zone.
Gabriel Paulista and Jasper Cillessen will miss the appointment for the ‘che’ team, while Ximo Navarro and Manu Vallejo, the latter for what is known as the ‘fear clause’, will not be available to José Luis Mendilibar.
–SUNDAY PROGRAM IN LALIGA SANTANDER.
Alaves – Valencia. Lamb Vega (C.Cantabro) 14.00.
Raise – Real Betis. Jaime Latre (C.Aragonese) 16.15.
Royal Society – Granada. Alberola Rojas (C.Castellano Manchego) 18.30.
Espanyol – FC Barcelona. Hernández Hernández (C.Canario) 21.00.