Sporting is beginning to forget what it is like to celebrate a victory away from El Molinón. The rojiblancos remain without away wins in 2023, the last being the one achieved in Lugo last December. With their spirits bolstered by the three points they scored last matchday against Tenerife, Miguel Ángel Ramírez’s team has a demanding challenge ahead of them. On Sunday it will be time to visit an Albacete that has not known defeat in its fiefdom since November. In addition, his scoring ability is one of his virtues. The man from La Mancha is the second highest scoring team in the category (37 goals, two less than Alavés) and has gone eleven games without losing. The challenge is important.
The play off. There is an addition to Sporting’s visit to Carlos Belmonte. The rojiblancos will have the opportunity not only to increase the distance a little more with the relegation places – now located at seven points – but also to vindicate themselves against the current team that marks the promotion play-off zone. A goal that still cannot be ruled out in the rojiblanco dressing room, especially through his coach, Miguel Ángel Ramírez. Winning at Carlos Belmonte would help raise an illusion reduced to a minimum in the face of the permanent irregularity of the team.
Trident. Albacete’s offensive potential can retouch the rojiblanco coach’s plans for the match. Last day, Ramírez opted for the first time, from the beginning, for a defense of four. It will be precisely the defensive line one of the most demanded by a rival that distributes its highest success rate between three players against the rival frame. Higinio (8), Dubasin (7) and Manu Fuster (7) are the top scorers for the La Mancha team. At the head of the team, Rubén Albés. The one who was also the coach of Lugo was one of the technicians who was on the agenda of the previous Sporting sports management.
Asturian stamp. Albacete, one of the recently promoted to the category, has two Asturians in its project since the arrival of the Skyline group to the club’s property in 2017. They are Jorge Buergo, former vice president of the Asturian Football Federation and now general director of the group manchego, and Jesús Hernández, director of communication. In the current squad of the first team there is also another Asturian, the carbayón Riki, a former Oviedo player.
Streak in the Belmonte. Traditionally, Carlos Belmonte has not been a field that Sporting has been bad at. The rojiblancos have added in nine of their thirteen league visits in the Second Division (four of them in the form of victory). Regarding the five visits in the First Division, the Gijón team won three of them, the rest being defeats.
Double session. Sporting held a double session yesterday and today is enjoying a break. The rojiblancos dedicated the morning to tactical work on pitch number 2 in Mareo, while the gym was the center of attention in the afternoon. The Sporting B players Jordi Pola, Jonathan Varane, Leonel Miguel and the goalkeeper Flo trained with the first team. Guille Rosas and Jeraldino worked individually. Jordan, with the permission of the club, was not part of the session while Nacho Martín, Nacho Méndez and Axel Bamba continue to advance in the recovery process. In the case of Nacho Méndez, he was seen running with Lorenzo del Pozo.
Nod to a “sustainable and coherent” project
Independiente del Valle, the Ecuadorian club with which Miguel Ángel Ramírez achieved his greatest sporting success, has just been proclaimed champion of the Recopa Sudamericana. He did it in the Maracana, beating Brazilian Flamengo. The Sporting coach wanted to make public his congratulations to the club of which he was a part. “Happy to see the sustainable and coherent project of Independiente del Valle continue to win. Keep inspiring, keep transforming. Congratulations friend and teammate Martín Anselmi (team coach),” wrote Ramírez, who lifted the Copa Sudamericana in 2019.