Valencia shattered Athletic’s desire to reach their third consecutive Cup final and San Mamés is looking for a victim to pay for the broken dishes. For example, look at the bottom team Levante, although he is not for the work of exercising team-aspirin. The lions walk under the same discomfort as last year after falling in the two finals in 15 days, although this time the blow has occurred in the previous rung. That bitterness is inverse to the spirits that the Granota team takes to San Mamés, rejoining the fight for salvation after having been almost evicted (follow the match live on As.com).
In a club as ambitious as Bilbao, a defeat like the one at Mestalla casts shadows over everything. Even on the renewal of Marcelino, acclaimed does nothing after eliminating Barça and Madrid. Now the objective is Europe and the day invites us to think about an achievable goal, after the setbacks of Villarreal and Real Sociedad.
Marcelino did not give the summoned list, in which he should only make a discard, waiting for the evolution of some players with “physical discomfort” that he did not want to reveal. He has all his artillery, including a De Marcos who fell at the last minute in Mestalla due to stomach problems, a nuisance that has been repeated several times this season.
The Asturian coach is considering putting his ideal eleven on the pitch, one similar to the one he presented in Valencia, although it is possible that he will introduce changes to improve the offensive performance he gave, far from what he needed to reach the final. De Marcos will return to the right side, Vencedor to the double pivot and Sancet, to the attacking partner. Nico Williams is not ruled out, brilliant at times before the injury that kept him out for a month, due to Berenguer, weak at the Che stadium.
The last of the doubts for an eleven to which the international Unai Simón will return under the sticks, who in the Cup left his place to the young Agirrezabala, absent yesterday with the subsidiary, is whether Yeray will continue with Iñigo Martínez in the center of defense or place Vivian there. Yuri, Dani García and captain Muniain are also presumed fixed. Iñaki Williams will try to get rid of the ghosts of a resounding error in the second leg of the semifinals.
Levante travels full, after having cut six points with respect to the permanence zone in the last three days, with two wins and a draw. Granada’s defeat in Valencia encourages the Granotas even more. A victory today would bring them within four points of remaining. Mustafi, Postigo, Saracchi and Campaña are still out. The latter Yesterday he starred in a partial return to training with his teammates. The expected return is just around the corner. Clerc continues with discomfort in one knee and has stopped. He did not exercise yesterday nor did he enter the call.