Espanyol and Oviedo live a First Division duel
The people of Oviedo arrive with an advantage to this final due to promotion
BARCELONA, 22 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
RCD Espanyol and Real Oviedo fight this Sunday at the Stage Front Stadium (6:30 p.m.) of the ‘pericos’ for the last ticket to LaLiga EA Sports 2024/25, in the second leg of the final of a ‘Playoff’ to which the blues arrive with Carlos Tartiere’s 1-0 advantage although the ‘parakeets’ need to win to be able to celebrate promotion.
The ‘Playoff’ rules say that in the event of a tie in the tie, the highest ranked team in the table passes, and in this case is promoted, and this is Espanyol. With the first leg 1-0, the blue and white team knows that if they win, whatever the result, they will once again be a First Division team. If so, they would quickly recover the place they lost last season, in which they were relegated.
But to do so they must win and it will not be easy for them against a Real Oviedo team that showed in the first leg, beyond the final victory thanks to Alemão’s goal, that it is capable of beating the ‘parakeets’. Everything is open, even more so with that ‘Carbayona’ victory in the first leg, and everything is to be decided in a true final, in a First Division duel between two historic players who want to see themselves again in the elite.
The Asturian team, with a dedicated fan base in search of promotion 23 years later, took the lead thanks to Alemão in the 72nd minute, a 1-0 that ended up being the final result because the VAR annulled Masca’s goal, due to offside. millimeters, which could have given Oviedo even more advantage. An advantage that, now, is minimal.
“I try to get us into the game convinced and knowing that you have to win. With a victory we are in First Division. All the noise from outside doesn’t matter to me. It’s about having things clear on the field. It’s not about coming back but about winning” , assured the RCD Espanyol coach, Manolo González, in the preview of this second leg.
With the possible return of the Moroccan right-back Omar El Hilali to the defense, the question falls on whether González will repeat on the left side with the more defensive Brian Oliván, or if he will choose to relocate the attacker Pere Milla in search of more depth. As for the rest, few changes are expected compared to the first leg.
As for Real Oviedo, the coach, Luis Carrión, has more in his wardrobe, players who can be back after being injured and, yes, the same objective of trying to “be better” on the pitch again.
“Our objective is to try to be better than them. As if the first leg didn’t exist, I don’t look at the result. We have to focus on this game. We don’t have to wait to see what happens. We have to try to be better than them “I think that in life the one who risks everything is the one who ends up triumphing,” he said before the clash.
With the veteran Santi Cazorla and Paulino de la Fuente already training with their teammates, with ball exercises, one or both of them could be a surprise in Cornellà-El Prat, just like David Costas who exercised normally. Of course, the good match in the first leg could lead the coach to bet on the same starting eleven in search of that long-awaited return to First Division.
DATASHEET.
–POSIBLE ALIGNMENTS.
RCD ESPANYOL: Joan García; Hilali, Fernando Calero, Leandro Cabrera, Pere Milla; Jofre Carreras, José Gragera, Keidi Bare, Nico Melamed; Javi Puado and Martin Braithwaite.
REAL OVIEDO: Leo Román; Viti, Oier Luengo, Dani Calvo, Pomares; Colombatto, Luismi; Sebas Moyano, Jaime Seoane, Borja Sánchez; and German.
–REFEREE: Cordero Vega (C. Cántabro).
–ESTADIO: Stage Front Stadium.
–TIME: 18.30/Movistar LaLiga.