MADRID, 12 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Real Sociedad will seek to take another step towards the next Champions League with a victory at home against a Girona aspiring to a European competition, like Villarreal, who still wants to fight for fourth place and who receives another European candidate like Athletic Club, while Osasuna will want to forget the cupbearer’s disgust against a needy Almería, in matches corresponding to matchday 34 of LaLiga Santander that will be played this Saturday.
Seven points, almost half of those that remain to be played (15), separate Real Sociedad and Villarreal, fourth and fifth place respectively and who face this final stretch as the best placed for that remaining place to play the Champions League this year. that comes, with Betis, sixth, a little further (9).
The two teams will seek not to fail and wait for the failure of one of the two in their two duels at home against two aspirants to fight to play in Europe next year such as the toned Girona and the downcast Athleti Club.
The Reale Arena will be the stage where it opens on Saturday (2:00 p.m.) and where Real Sociedad will try to become strong again to score three vital points, although they will face an opponent who is in great form.
Girona will settle in San Sebastián supported by their last three consecutive victories against Real Madrid (4-2), Sevilla (0-2) and Mallorca (2-1) that have made them go from fighting for permanence to to be placed in seventh place that currently gives a ticket to the Conference League.
The challenge for Míchel’s men will now be to stop a Real team that is also feeling good after adding ten of the last twelve points and that knows that their chances of being in the Champions League will be played at home, since they still have visits to the Spotify Camp Nou and to the Metropolitan Civitas. At the moment, he has not lost in his last four games against his fans and hardly concedes, so it seems more unlikely that Montilivi’s spectacular 3-5 can be repeated.
Imanol Bailiff will finally be able to count on central defender Igor Zubeldia for this game and has lost Brais Méndez, while Míchel will have a significant loss like that of ‘Taty’ Castellanos, who joins those of Aleix García, Yangel Herrera, Borja García or Toni Villa. Stuani could be chosen to replace the Argentine striker, author of six of the team’s last eight goals.
VILLARREAL RECEIVES A DOUBTABLE ATHLETIC
For their part, Villarreal will also have the support of the Estadio de La Cerámica (6:30 p.m.) to try to beat Athletic Club and continue in the fight for that fourth place and keep their distance from the teams behind them, especially Betis. , located at two points.
The Castellón team knows that it needs to be more regular in this decisive stretch. The ‘Yellow Submarine’ has experienced a kind of ‘roller coaster’ of results, alternating good and bad streaks, and after two straight home victories and seven goals scored against Espanyol and Celta, they had a slight slowdown with the draw at Mestalla before of receiving a rival whom they have not beaten in front of their fans since 16-17.
However, Athletic does not arrive with its best feelings after facing the break for the Copa del Rey final with only one point from the last nine, with two defeats in San Mamés (Sevilla and Betis) and only one goal scored, from Iñaki Williams, from a penalty and in the 96th minute against Mallorca.
Quique Setién will be able to count on the Argentine midfielder Giovanni Lo Celso, who will start from the bench, and must decide between Gerard Moreno and a rising Nicolas Jackson for the lead. Ernesto Valverde is having problems at the back as he cannot count on Íñigo Martínez and Daniel Vivian, although two players have entered the list who have been ‘touched’ such as Yeray Álvarez and Óscar de Marcos, as well as Iker Muniain.
OSASUNA, TO FORGET THE DISPLEASURE OF THE CUPPER BEFORE THE NEEDED ALMERÍA
Finally, the Saturday day is completed with the duel in El Sadar (4:30 p.m.) between Osasuna and Almería, two teams with totally different objectives, since the ‘rojillos’ want to speed up their options for seventh place and the Andalusian team needs to add to move away the descent.
The Navarrese team turns its sights to the domestic tournament after having had time to digest the defeat in the Copa del Rey final last Saturday against Real Madrid. Now, he hopes to recover mentally and mentally to park this disappointment and try to do his best to qualify for European competition, a goal that they are close to, three points away.
However, they will have to face an Almería whose need is surely greater, but also more pressing. The Andalusian team has 36 points and wants to scratch something positive in its attempt to close one more day out of a relegation that it has two points behind, although it needs to wake up at home because it has only added seven points out of a possible 48 away from its stadium.
Jagoba Arrasate will forget the rotations prior to the Cup and will again bet on an eleven very similar to the one in the final, with the possible ownership of ‘Chimy’ Ávila, while Rubi seems that he could repeat the eleven with which he won last day against Elche.
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Multimedia content (graphics):
Previous statistics Real Sociedad vs Girona FC (J34)
https://www.epdata.es/estadisticas-previa-real-sociedad-vs-g…
Previous statistics CA Osasuna vs UD Almería (J34)
https://www.epdata.es/estadisticas-previa-ca-osasuna-vs-ud-a…
Previous statistics Villarreal CF vs Athletic Club (J34)
https://www.epdata.es/estadisticas-previa-villarreal-cf-vs-a…
–LALIGA SANTANDER SATURDAY PROGRAM FOR MATCHDAY 34
Royal Society – Girona. Figueroa Vázquez (C. Andalusian) 14.00.
Osasuna – Almeria. Matthew Lahoz (C. Valenciano)
Villarreal – Athletic Club. Del Cerro Grande (C. Madrid) 18.30.
Real Madrid – Getafe. Martínez Munuera (C. Valencian) 21.00.