Last March 2, José Luis Gayà relapsed from his injury after forcing to play the second leg of the Cup semifinals, against Athletic. Valencia got into the final and from that moment a plan arose in Gayà’s head: Reach the final but after shooting earlier in some games. Thus, last week he already played a few minutes and the time has come to prove yourself in a full match.
He will start against Rayo, next Monday, just 12 days before the grand finale of La Cartuja, against Betis. This will be the definitive proof that his injury is already forgotten. And from there he will have two more games (Osasuna and Villarreal) to find their point optimally. For Gayà, Betis will be the most special match with the Valencia shirt. It is true that he was already Cup champion in 2019, at Benito Villamarín. But this time in case of beating Betis he would be in charge of lifting the trophy, as captain of the squad.
Gayà’s return to eleven, after many games, will coincide with a system change in Bordalás’ team. The squad has been rehearsing during the week the return to Bordalás’ classic 4-4-2 to the detriment of the 5-3-2 used in recent games. Bordalás will take advantage of Diakhaby’s suspension due to suspension compose his most titular defense on paper, with Thierry on the right; Paulista and Alderete, as centrals; and Gayà himself on the left. The entry of the captain would entail the departure of Jesús Vázquez’s teamalthough the youth squad could advance his position and play inside, ahead of Gayà