Pep Lluís Martí He is already thinking about which team will present for the meeting in eight days before Las Palmas. The coach is conducting several tests in the last training sessions, although now his priority is to ensure that all players acquire a good physical and competitive tone to start the competition in the best way. And it is that since they will face 11 matches in a short period of time they will have to make rotations so that their staff does not accuse excess wear. Yes, In the face of the 'debut' against the Canarian team, Martí already knows that he has two players that he will not be able to count on: Samu Saiz and Brian Oliván. They are sanctioned.
Both players will thus see their break lengthened and they will have to wait a little longer than the rest of their teammates to compete again. It is the consequence of what happened on the last day, that of March 7 before Albacete, before declaring the state of alarm by COVID-19. The duel against the La Mancha team was full of controversy at the end for the few minutes added by the referee and Samu Saiz and Brian Oliván could not avoid being booked. Oliván was the Atletico footballer who received the most punishment because saw the red card and must serve two penalty matches. The defender, who did not contest a single minute against Albacete, was sent off for, as stated in the referee's report, “from the bench area, entering the field of play to my position, shouting at me, protesting aggressively. ” And because of that, It will not only be low against Las Palmas but also against Racing. As to Samu Saiz, only the duel against the canaries will be lost. He saw a yellow “for making observations to one of my decisions”, according to the referee and being the fifth of the course will complete cycle.
On the other hand Cristian Rivera is a doubt to play against Las Palmas. The midfielder carries physical discomfort. The truth is that he is not having fortune in this sense because he arrived on the winter market on loan, precisely, from the yellow club until the end of the course (a purchase option was included on a mandatory basis in case of promotion) and de rojiblanco has only played 73 minutes in the league. Of course, if within eight days he has no problems competing, there will be no need to align him or not. He could play because in the loan contract he signed, Las Palmas did not include the fear clause.