The cup hype has wanted Eibar to have to play for a place in the round of 16 of the KO tournament with Elche, … an old acquaintance, thanks to whose administrative relegation in 2015, allowed the gun club to remain in the First Division despite the fact that a few weeks before it had completed its sporting relegation.
The match against the people of Elche will be held next week, specifically on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. The duel will be a test that will put to the test the Blaugrana’s ability to diversify their efforts, since Beñat San José’s men will have to give their all again on Friday the 19th (8:30 p.m.) to defend the Eibar fort in the last duel of the year against Valladolid.
The calendar is once again compressed to the maximum for Eibar at the most delicate moment in its recent history, situated in the relegation places, one point behind the bottom, although also one point away from salvation, and having to face this Saturday (2 pm) a Córdoba that, from the twelfth place it occupies with 22 points, sees the promotion play-off places within reach of a victory.
Elche is not exactly the most favorable rival for the Blaugrana, who were already defeated in Ipurua a little over a year ago in the last visit of the people from Elche to Eibar before consummating their return to First Division as second place.
The great architect of the franjiverdes’ success is Eder Sarabia, who placed his team among the candidates to compete in the Champions League after a brilliant start in which they combined three victories and four draws that covered their work with praise.
But it was close to glory and forgetting to win in the following seven games, in which they have had four defeats and three draws, curiously against Athletic, Real Sociedad and more recently against Real Madrid (2-2). A bad dynamic that has just been broken after comfortably defeating Girona (3-0), managing to keep a clean sheet for the first time in the last five games. Something that the gunsmiths have not achieved since they tied against Leganés (0-0) at home on the eleventh matchday, almost a month and a half ago.
Like Eibar, the Alicante team are among the worst visitors in their category, without knowing what it means to win in any of the seven games they have played away from Martínez Valero, where they have only been able to scrape three draws, due to the four defeats suffered.
His solvency in his fiefdom, where he remains undefeated with four wins and four draws thanks to his great defensive solidity, has him in a creditable ninth position, without losing sight of the European places.
Other pairings
The rest of the draw, in which the Super Cup teams will face the survivors from the lower categories (Ourense-Athletic; Atlético Baleares-Atlético; Talavera-Real Madrid; and Guadalajara-Barcelona) has left other interesting matches, such as the one between Huesca and Osasuna, as well as Eldense-Real Sociedad. It is also worth noting that Cultural Leonesa, who attacked Ipurua on Sunday, will receive Levante.
Three more sessions before heading to Córdoba
After meeting their new cup-bearing rival on their weekly rest day, the Eibar players resume work today with three sessions ahead before facing the important and demanding visit to the Nuevo Arcángel in Córdoba. As usual, all the sessions scheduled by Beñat San José will be behind closed doors, those for today and tomorrow at 11:00 a.m., while the one on Friday will begin at 10:00 a.m. to finish in time to board the plane that will take them to the capital of Córdoba. Given the dates and the delicate sporting situation of the team, there will not be many fans accompanying the gunsmiths, despite the fact that Córdoba has sent 500 tickets to 20 euros.
