Girona, with Pablo Torre and Eric García in the squad, visits Osasuna in a highly demanding duel
The duel will serve as a scale of the season’s objectives beyond permanence
The situation has changed radically. And that was already extraordinary then.. Girona visits El Sadar as co-leader of the First Division, along with Real Madrid -both have 28 points out of a possible 33-, and aware that this season the Osasuna stadium can once again hold one of the keys to playing at Europe next year.
While it is true that it is still early to say for sure, it is not very difficult to predict that the Navarrese will be one of the rivals that will be in the fight for the top seven places in the classification when the exercise is over. Without going any further, last season Jagoba Arrasate’s men beat the red and whites in the last league match with a victory to certify the Conference League place (2-1) that they would lose in the previous phase against Bruges.
Míchel, who until now had always avoided talking about more ambitious objectives other than achieving outright permanence as soon as possible, He admitted at a press conference that the confrontation against Osasuna “could be a turning point to know how far we can go.”
For now, the rojiblancos are installed at the top of the classificationahead of teams like Barça, Real Sociedad or Athletic, while the rojillos are in eleventh place after suffering a defeat at Benito Villamarín (2-1) in a start to the season marked by the elimination of the Conference League that has caused imbalances in the league.
Furthermore, things haven’t quite worked out for them at El Sadar and they barely achieved their first victory in their last home game against Granada (2-0). Quite the opposite of Girona, which has multiplied the good feelings from the end of last season with a historic start. They have only suffered one defeat against Real Madrid (0-3) and have added a draw against Real Sociedad (1-1). The rest are victories.
Cooperative sequels
It will, therefore, be a duel of maximum demand that Míchel’s men face less preparation time as a result of the Copa del Rey, in which on Wednesday they won at the San Roque de Lepe with a goal from Savinho in the last play of added time to avoid extra time (1-2). For its part, Osasuna is exempt from playing the first two rounds and will enter action in the sixteenth final due to its status as a participant in the Spanish Super Cup.
Surely, Girona’s regular starters participated more minutes than expected in the Cup in order to resolve the tie in time, but this does not prevent them from repeating tomorrow in Pamplona. After Míchel rested Eric García, Blind, Aleix García and Yangel Herrera, the four will reappear at the start against Osasuna.
In the chapter of discharges, Pablo Torre stands out, who returns to the squad after missing the last game due to leg discomfort. Regarding the casualties, David López, Juan Carlos Borja García and Toni Villa are not available.
Osasuna’s preparation
Unlike Girona, which apart from the Cup match during the week also has to take into account the time spent traveling, The rojillos have had a whole week to prepare for a match in which they will seek the second victory of the season together with their fans. The only loss for the rojillos is Juan Cruz, who continues to recover from his injury.
Arrasate, who is in his sixth consecutive season leading the Navarrese team, He has, like Míchel, a very defined starting eleven. Sergio Herrera has made a space for himself in the goal, while Areso has burst in strongly on the right side, making use of his technical and physical conditions; Catena and David García continue to be permanent fixtures, as well as Rubén Peña on the left wing; Torró, Aimar, Moncayola and Moi do not move from the middle of the field; and Chimy Ávila and Budimir are the offensive references.
Girona will meet Mojica again, after signing for Osasuna last summer transfer market from Villarreal. The Colombian has played 7 games for rojillo, 4 of them as a starter. The precedent of last June 4, when Osasuna won with a double from Budimir, can help Míchel’s men to correct their errors four months later. The occasion is worth it.
Probable lineups
Osasuna: Sergio Herrera; Areso, Catena, David García, Peña; Torró; Chimy Ávila, Moncayola, Aimar, Moi Gómez; Budimir.
Girona: Gazzaniga; Arnau o Tsygankov, Eric, Blind, Miguel; Aleix García; Couto, Herrera, Iván Martín, Savinho; Dovbyk.
Referee: Munuera Montero (Andalusian).
Stadium: The Sadar.