Previews
SUN 01.03.2015
UD Las Palmas - CD Tenerife (Estadio de Gran Canaria, 1pm)
Sunday's action gets underway with a thrilling Canary Island derby between two sides experiencing widely differing fortunes this year. While the Gran Canarian outfit are league leaders with 51 points, and cannot afford to lose their grip on their position, Tenerife will be going all out to move away from the danger zone.
"Tenerife are enjoying a good streak of form of late, having recently beaten Real Valladolid", stated Paco Herrera, "but we have to be true to ourselves, and do as we did during the first half of the season". The away team’s manager, Raúl Agné, was unequivocal about what his side needs to do for this game: "We have to make our fans proud".
Albacete B. - SD Ponferradina (Carlos Belmonte, 4pm)
Albacete and Ponferradina meet for a clash between two teams on opposite ends of the table. The Castile-La Mancha outfit, who are in the relegation zone with 26 points, are two points away from safety and will be looking to keep their recent good vein of form alive. However, they are up against an El Bierzo side that sits seventh and will be hoping to push further up the table.
Las Palmas vs. Tenerife and Leganés vs. Alcorcón will add some regional drama to the weekend’s events
Manolo Díaz will be without Pablo and Dinu, both injured, while Castañeda, Lucas and Cristian have all been left out of the squad due to a technical decision.
RC Recreativo - R. Racing C. (Nuevo Colombino, 4pm)
Hungry and in desperate need of points. That is how Recreativo and Racing come into this clash. Both sides are in the relegation zone, with 23 and 25 points respectively, and need to start picking up good results soon in order to move towards safety in the division.
The two teams are on high alert due to their perilous league positions. In his pre-match press conference, the Andalusians’ manager, Juan Manuel Pavón, said: "They are a wounded rival and play a similar brand of football to us. They travel here with a noose tied around their neck". His counterpart on the Santander outfit’s bench is looking for his players "to be positive and keep up their good attitude" in order to win all three points.
Girona FC - CD Numancia (Estadio de Montilivi, 5pm)
The Catalan and Castilians' minds will be solely set on the play-off spots for this match. Girona, who have been sliding down the table over the last few weeks, and Numancia, who are in flying form, meet for this six-point thriller.
Pablo Machín, returning to the ground he started his managerial career in, will be without David Juncà and Eloi Amagat, who are both injured, as well as Pere Pons, who is suspended. For the away side, Julio Álvarez’s return coincides with íñigo Pérez having to miss out because of an injury.
CD Mirandés - R. Betis (Anduva, 6:15pm)
Mirandés come into this game against third-placed Betis tenth in the table and will be eager to push on. Pepe Mel’s charges will be keeping an eye on how Las Palmas and Sporting get on in order to possibly leap-frog their way to the top spot.
Meanwhile, the home side will be doing all they can to make life difficult for the Andalusians. "Betis won't have it easy trying to win in Anduva", stated Carlos Terrazas. The good news for the traveling team is the return of Álvaro Vadillo to the squad.
R. Zaragoza - UE Llagostera (La Romareda, 7pm)
Llagostera will be looking to keep their best streak of the season alive against Zaragoza with a fourth straight win, a feat only six teams have managed so far this season. However, they will not have it easy as they are up against an Aragon outfit aiming to continue their ascendency towards the top spots in the league table.
Girona vs. Numancia and Recreativo vs. Racing face off in Sunday's six-pointer clashes
Diego Rico and Ruíz de Galarreta, both suspended, as well as Basha, Jaime and Rubén, who are injured, will not be available for this encounter, news the Catalans will take comfort from. "We have to approach all the rest of our games with the same levels of intensity", specified Lluís Carillo.
CD Leganés - AD Alcorcón (Estadio Municipal de Butarque, 9pm)
Sunday's action closes with a mouth-watering tie in which the two teams from the south of Madrid meet for yet another Liga Adelante game. Leganés and Alcorcón take each other on in Butarque for the first time in the division's history and both teams will be well up for the occasion.
"Win or lose, we're going to be a very difficult team to play against", declared the Leganés manager, Asier Garitano. The home side will be without Erik Morán, who is suspended, but the manager has faith in the rest of his players. Alcorcón are in more need of a good result from this encounter and, as such, will be going all out for a win. "It is a special match for both clubs, both sets of supporters and the players", stated Sergio Mora, one of the away team’s captains.
© LALIGA - 2015