Almería B to make league debut after 6 months without playing an official match
The Rojiblancos host Atlético Mancha Real on Sunday at 12:00 noon. The clash will be played behind closed doors
The UD Almería ‘B’ team begin their new campaign within group IX, subgroup A, of the Tercera Division (fourth tier in Spanish football) by hosting their first opponents Atlético Mancha Real at the Anexo training ground next to the Juegos Mediterraneos Stadium. The kick-off time has been set for 12:00 noon on Sunday when the 2020/21 season becomes a reality.
The first competitors of the youth squad are one of the favourites to fight for the promotion to Segunda Division B (third tier in Spanish football league system). Not surprisingly, the Jaén-based side have valuable experience within this league level and have been able to strengthen themselves quite well during the pre-season. This factor led coach Fernando Santos to exclaim: ‘On Sunday, we’re going to play against one of the best teams in our subgroup.’
The Academy squad have not been able to enjoy an official match for almost seven months, since last year was the competition was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic. At that time, the Rojiblancos were just three points away from being eligible to make the leap a higher tier. However, the lads from Almeria were left out of the play-offs and will have to try again to achieve promotion. What is more, the squad have made it clear that this is their goal during the summer.
Fernando Santos, ‘Nandinho’, has named all the available players to the meeting in the Almeria B squad list. In this sense, the Portuguese head coach cannot count on Robles and Sergio Contreras because both must serve one-match suspension since they last played in March. Similarly, it will not be known until Sunday morning if some of the players who belong to the second team, but whose daily activity takes place along with the first-team squad, will be part of the team roster. It is worth highlighting that there will be several Almeria U19s ‘A’ youngsters joining in.
The Almería B vs Mancha Real game will be played behind closed doors after the agreement reached between the club and Patronato (City Sports Board) through which a series of protocol measures have been adopted to prevent the spread of Covid-19.