Team duel in low hours in Mendizorroza

Deportivo Alavés and Granada, both at low hours, will face each other in a duel in Mendizorroza in which the locals have more needs than the Andalusians, who have virtual salvation in their pockets on the thirty-third day of LaLiga Santander.

After competing in the Wanda Metropolitano, despite the defeat, the team from Vitoria has rearmed itself to get out of an important slump and move closer to salvation.

Now it is time for Asier Garitano’s men to find the good feelings that led to the victory against Real Sociedad, the only victory after the break, when the four defeats harvested after the start of the competition weigh heavily.

The Basque coach made nine changes to the starting team that jumped onto the pitch of the mattress team in the last duel and everything points to the renewal of the team going in those directions.

Fernando Pacheco will be the only casualty for this match, with a microbreak in the external shutter, so the goal will be protected by Roberto Jiménez.

In the defensive zone will be Ximo Navarro, Lisandro Magallán, Víctor Laguardia and Rubén Duarte, who will have to closely monitor what happens in his area and avoid the maximum penalties that may decide the match.

Alavés already accumulates 14 penalties against, which is the highest number in a season in the last 21 years. A fact that prevents Basques from scoring points and successfully achieving the objective of permanence.

Fortunately for the interests of the babazorros, the teams that are behind are not adding and the people of Vitoria are further from the descent than at the beginning of this last league stage. Now he is nine points from the danger positions, when at the beginning of the final phase he was seven.

Garitano will once again have Tomás Pina and Víctor Camarasa in the midfield, while the bands will be for Aleix Vidal and Luis Rioja, who will have the reference of the pair formed by Lucas Pérez and Joselu Mato.

For its part, Granada visits Alavés with the aim of winning to be able to mathematically certify a permanence that has been virtual for several weeks and be able to re-engage in the fight for seventh place that entitles them to play in Europe next season.

Despite the fact that the rojiblancos have gone four days without winning, with two draws and as many defeats, they have only four points those European positions, so their only goal is to win in Vitoria before the direct confrontation on Saturday in the Nuevo Los Cármenes against to Valencia.

The coach Diego Martínez has to face the clash against Alavés with numerous losses, as has been happening since the competition restarted after the break due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The central Germán Sánchez will miss the clash due to the accumulation of cards, while the Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Silva, the defenders Álex Martínez, Joaquín Marín ‘Quini’ and the Colombian Neyder Lozano, the winger Álvaro Vadillo and the media Ángel Montoro and the French Maxime Gonalons.

After playing on Sunday against Eibar, who won 1-2 at Nuevo Los Cármenes, Diego Martínez will start in Vitoria with several players who were not starters or did not have minutes against Eibar.

A very renewed eleven is expected with respect to the last clash with the safe entry, among others, of the Portuguese Domingos Duarte, the French Dimitri Foulquier, the Nigerian Ramon Azeez or the striker Roberto Soldado.

After four days without winning, the big question is whether the coach will continue to give continuity to the defense of four players used in recent games or will he return to the rear of three centrals and two lanes used in several games.