Athletic wants to debut in 2023 against the reinforced Cádiz News

MADRID, 2 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Athletic Club will try to add their first league victory of this 2023 and the first in almost three months in the visit this Friday to San Mamés (9:00 p.m.) of the needy and reinforced Cádiz, in the match that opens the twentieth day of LaLiga Santander, first of the second round of the championship.

Ernesto Valverde's team has not started the new year too well, where the joys have only come in a Copa del Rey that arouses enthusiasm, while in the domestic tournament they have not won since just before the break for the World Cup in Qatar, so who has dropped out of the fight for Europe.

The 'Leones' have added only two points from the last 15 disputed, at the Benito Villamarín at the end of 2022 and against Osasuna at the beginning of 2023, and they have lost their last three games, against Real Sociedad, Real Madrid and Celta, with the addition of having scored only one goal, the one scored by Sancet in the Basque derby.

Now, against a team from the lower half that they thrashed (0-4) in their stadium, but who have defeated them on their last two visits to 'La Catedral', they will want to return to the path of victory so as not to disengage from the ' train' destined for European competition at the expense of its performance in the Cup, although the one that leads to the Champions League already seems more complicated.

Ernesto Valverde, who rotated in the defeat in Balaídos with the entries of Dani García, Íñigo Lekue, Ander Herrera or Iker Muniain and who seems to be back on the bench, will once again be without Iñaki Williams, out in Vigo due to a muscle problem that ended to his impeccable record of 251 league games in a row, while he does hope to have Alex Berenguer, suffering from gastroenteritis.

Cádiz arrives at San Mamés encouraged, not only because of their latest positive statistics in the Biscayan fiefdom, but also because they scored three key points last weekend against a direct rival like Mallorca (2-0), their second victory of the season at the Nuevo Mirandilla and the third match in total in which he was able to score more than one goal after the 2-2 win against Espanyol and the 3-2 win against Atlético de Madrid.

The team from Cádiz, however, did not manage to get out of relegation, which now closes, one point away from salvation, so they achieved their second consecutive victory, something that they have not yet achieved this season and that has resisted them since the end of 20-21, would serve to provisionally sleep out of danger and put pressure on their rivals.

Sergio González has received many winter reinforcements, a total of six, three on the last day, Sergi Guardiola, Chris Ramos and Jorge Meré, who join those of Youba Diarra, Gonzalo Escalante and Roger Martí, the latter two with options to enter the eleven. Rubén Alcaraz, due to suspension, and Álvaro Negredo, Fede San Emeterio and Víctor Chust, due to injury, are absent.

-Friday, February 3.

Athletic Club - Cádiz. Pizarro Gómez (C.Madrileño) 21.00.

-Saturday 4.

Espanyol - Osasuna. Gil Manzano (C. Extremeño) 14.00.

Elche-Villarreal. Munuera Montero (C. Andalusian) 16.15.

Atletico Madrid - Getafe. Mateu Lahoz (C.Valenciano) 18.30.

Betis - Celtic. Del Cerro Grande (C.Madrileño) 21.00.

-Sunday 5.

Majorca - Real Madrid. Hernández Hernández (C. Las Palmas) 14.00.

Girona-Valencia. Villanueva Churches (C. Gallego) 16.15.

Real Sociedad - Valladolid. González Fuertes (C.Asturiano) 18.30.

FC Barcelona - Seville. Sánchez Martínez (C. Murciano) 21.00.