MADRID, 6 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Girona FC and CD Leganés, respective leaders of LaLiga EA Sports and LaLiga Hypermotion, calibrate this Thursday in the Copa del Rey their great start to the season with two matches against Orihuela CF and Racing de Ferrol, within a round of 32 where the Athletic Club visits CD Cayón while RC Celta visits Sestao River.
At the Los Arcos Municipal Stadium, the locals will receive (9:00 p.m.) a Girona team that is enjoying Christmas at the best moment in its history. Co-leader of the First Division, tied on 38 points with Real Madrid after 15 games, the Girona team continues to enthrall its fans and raise dust among the 'gallitos' clubs in its category.
Of course, to extrapolate their league streak to the Cup they will not have Yangel Herrera, recently injured in the femoral biceps of his right leg. Their duel next weekend against FC Barcelona forces Míchel Sánchez to use key players, still having Toni Villa, Borja García, Joel Roca and Jastin García in the dry dock; In addition, Ricard Artero is still limping from his serious ankle injury.
On the other hand, Athletic will play in El Sardinero (9:00 p.m.) with the intention of prolonging its good First Division dynamic and enjoying its favorite tournament. The people of Bilbao have not lost since last October 22, against Barça (1-0) on matchday 10 of the League, and have shown an electrifying version in their last matches, with victories including Villarreal (2-3), Celta ( 4-3) and Rayo Vallecano (4-0).
On the grass of Las Llanas, precisely Celta will put to the test (9:00 p.m.) a project that has not started and that casts doubts with each week that the calendar passes. The last victory of the Vigo team dates back to November 1, just in the previous cup round (0-4 against Turégano), while in First Division they have been in relegation positions for months (9 pts.).
EL CÁDIZ, ALSO LICKING WOUNDS
Cádiz is in a similar league situation (12 pts.), also experiencing bad results and generating uncertainty. They won their Cup tie in the 1/64 finals on penalties, against Badalona Futur, and have not won an official match in regulation time for more than three months. A 0-2 win over Atlético Sanluqueño, in a friendly, is the only positive experience for the Cádiz team in that period.
Looking ahead to these thirty-seconds, their rival will be (7:00 p.m.) Arandina, who will once again appeal to the support of El Montecillo to repeat the joy that their fans experienced in the previous round, then leaving Real Murcia in the gutter (1-0) thanks one goal from Ayoub El Battioui.
Among the other three qualifying rounds this Thursday, without First Division clubs in the fray, the event of Leganés in the field of Racing de Ferrol (8:00 p.m.) stands out. Both teams faced each other during matchday 17 of the Second Division, with a final 2-2 in Butarque, the locals having equaled the provisional 0-2 of the Ferrolans after a quarter of an hour.
On the other hand, Elche will visit Linares Deportivo (20.00) with the challenge of increasing a good streak; Not in vain, two consecutive victories have brought the team from Elche closer to the promotion playoffs. And furthermore, Melilla will host (20.00) an Eibar in the middle of the autumn slump, thanks to one victory and two draws in the last five league games.
–THURSDAY PROGRAM IN THE KING'S CUP.
Arandina – Cádiz.
Linares Deportivo – Elche.
Melilla – Eibar.
Racing de Ferrol – Leganés.
Cayón – Athletic Club.
Orihuela – Girona.
Sestao River – Celta.