The Valencian teams play their matches corresponding to matchday 12 and 13, postponed by DANA
MADRID, 17 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Villarreal CF, against Rayo Vallecano, and Valencia CF, against RCD Espanyol, will play this Wednesday their respective matches on matchday 12 and 13 of LaLiga EA Sports, which should have been played at the beginning of last November but were postponed to consequence of the tragic DANA that then especially hit the Valencian Community.
At the Estadio de la Cerámica (9:30 p.m.) two teams with opposite feelings and different objectives will face each other. Villarreal receives Rayo after its defeat (1-2) last Sunday and also at home; It was against Betis, who played an hour with one less player, something that the yellows did not take advantage of. Meanwhile, the Vallecanos travel to Castellón after winning in their last outing, precisely to Valencia, and then scratching a draw against Real Madrid.
Marcelino García Toral’s team is going through a delicate moment in the season, without winning since they did so on matchday 13 against Alavés (comfortably 3-0). There are two draws and three defeats in that period, the hardest being their elimination from the Copa del Rey MAPFRE against Pontevedra in a match where the Galician team dominated.
Doubts fly over Villarreal, since the start of the course promised strong emotions. This panorama worries the ‘Yellow Submarine’, which needs to score points if it does not want to disengage from the fight for European positions. He will go out onto the pitch with a thirst for victory and a starting eleven where the Asturian coach will have to juggle. The sanctions of Dani Parejo, Álex Baena and Kiko Femenía, due to the accumulation of yellow cards, are added to the already known injuries of Juan Foyth, Ilias Akhomach, Diego Conde, Nicolas Pépé and Alfonso Pedraza.
Opposite, a Rayo that will visit La Cerámica after taking breath thanks to the last four points of the possible six, especially after that recent draw against Real Madrid. The team from the strip arrives with an upward spirit and in a comfortable position in the standings with six points above relegation and trying to look up.
Íñigo Pérez’s team will look for a great result in Valencian territory to try to close a first round where they have managed to ensure that two of the candidates for the league title left Vallecas without victory. But the Vallecanos want more and take advantage of the good dynamics to continue adding points. The Navarrese coach could repeat the eleven he put out last weekend in Vallecas with Isi Palazón and Randy Nteka as offensive references. It only has the already known absence of striker Raúl de Tomás.
BENCHES IN DANGER FOR THE DUEL BETWEEN PARAKETS AND ‘CHES’
At the same time at the RCDE Stadium, Espanyol and Valencia will experience an early final where whoever loses will be affected in the fight for permanence. Both teams, in relegation positions, are separated by four points, although the locals have another game still pending.
Thus, a match is presented where the coach who is defeated will find his continuity in charge of the bench very complicated. Espanyol arrives after adding a valuable draw against Osasuna (0-0), thanks to the performance of its goalkeeper Joan García. And in Cornellà-El Prat the parakeet team shows great muscle, of the 14 points it has collected so far in the league, 13 have been added at home.
This record is a clear symptom that Manolo González’s men notice the warmth of their fans and something that they will try to take advantage of against a direct rival to add the three points and escape the relegation that Deportivo Alavés would enter.
The Galician coach has the entire squad available, except for Pol Lozano, who received his fifth yellow card last day and will serve the sanction this Wednesday. It will be a sensitive and important loss for the locals as it was part of González’s plans for the games.
For its part, Valencia travels with very damaged morale after wasting a golden opportunity against Valladolid, a direct rival for permanence, last day when they beat them by the minimum. But the ‘che’ team does not have time to lick its wounds because it has another ‘match ball’ against another direct rival, and it cannot be wasted if it does not want to seriously complicate its life.
The Valencians have suffered three defeats in the league competition after seeing some optimism in the match against Betis, which returned football to Mestalla after the DANA. So they need to react urgently at home where they have only gotten two points. Rubén Baraja has the absences of Correia, Diakhaby, Gayà, Mamardashvili and Rafa Mir, and will likely repeat the same eleven that came out in Pucela.