On your marks, get set, go!
UD Almería are hosting Deportivo Alavés with the obligation to win their first LaLiga game to keep hopes of fighting for survival alive before it is too late. The backing of the fans will be key. The opponents have collected 7 of the last 9 points at stake. The game will also be broadcast in Mexico
Girona FC head coach Míchel said that UD Almería had deserved to win 15 days ago at the Power Horse Stadium in the match between both teams. Last Sunday, at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, the Rojiblancos produced a brilliant display against Real Madrid CF and if they ended up empty-handed it was... well, everyone already knows the reason why. Now Deportivo Alavés head coach Luis García Plaza has stated in the match preview of this Friday's meeting that they must be careful with UD Almería since the Rojiblancos should be a mid-table side right now considering the high level of their latest performances... On top of that, the invigorated performances put in at the Cívitas Metropolitano or at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadiums, or the fixture against Real Betis or...be that as it may, they must win now and they haven't achieved a victory yet.
The Indálicos have a prime opportunity, the twenty-second of this 2023/24 season, to add three points at once. The team is prepared despite the absences due to injuries or international duty and the numerous setbacks that continue to affect the squad, such as the injury relapse of striker Luis Suárez, among many others.
It is time to win before it is too late. The situation is complicated, very complicated, but not at all impossible. This Friday's match against Deportivo Alavés is a 'final'; This is how gaffer Gaizka Garitano has described it, and the Rojiblancos are going to face it putting their hearts and souls into it.
It will not be an easy task given the fact that the Alavesistas will go into the game on the back of a positive run after having added 7 of the last 9 points at stake, including a hard-fought draw in San Sebastián and a victory at the Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium. The next guests are tough adversaries; one of those that UD Almería are not good at, but there is no choice for this to change and with this purpose, they will go all out from 9pm local time this Friday at the Power Horse Stadium.
The squad members carried out one last training session this Thursday evening to flesh out the final details for the next battle, although Mr Garitano has quite a few question marks over the availability of some of his players. The gaffer is checking if those who have just returned from the African Cup of Nations are match fit (Baba, Mendes and Marciano). Central defender César Montes and new signing Radovanović continue to work their way back towards full recovery, both have trained little with the group. Ramazani is to serve a one-math ban, while Luis Suárez has suffered an injury relapse... Léo Baptistão is available for selection again at least!
The backing of the UD Almería loyal fans will be essential and the Rojiblancos need it more than ever in a tough-looking match that will also be televised in Mexico.