Elche (Alicante)/Valladolid, March 10. Elche are forced to win, to feed their few remaining options, Real Valladolid, also short of points, in a game marked by the return to Martínez Valero of coach José Rojo ‘Pacheta’, idol of Elche supporters after leading the team from Second B to First in two and a half years.
It will be the first time that the Burgos coach returns to a stage where he triumphed and rediscovers a hobby he couldn’t say goodbye to due to the pandemic.
The coach’s return, however, is conditioned by the importance of the game, almost definitive for Elche, in which only victory gives them options to continue dreaming of salvation, and important for Valladolid, who need points to maintain security. of cushion with the fall zone.
The match came at a good time for Elche, revitalized in their spirits after claiming the second victory of the course in Mallorca, the first at home, and managing to get their spotless goal out for the first time.
In addition, coach Pablo Machín recovers troops, like Lisandro Magallán and Enzo Roco, who return after serving a one-game suspension, which is why he only maintains the losses of the suspended Pope Sheikh.
Long-time injured Álex Collado, John Chetauya and Pere Milla have already entered the final stages of their recovery and are awaiting discharge, although it seems likely they will already be included in the squad.
Pedro Bigas has been doubtful during the week due to a viral process, although everything indicates that he will arrive in time for the game.
After the victory in Mallorca and the good defensive performance of the team, no major changes in the formation are expected, although it is possible that Magallán or Roco return to the defensive axis, players who have always had the Machin’s trust.
Real Valladolid travel to Elche fully “warned” of a match that “is going to be intense and complicated”, against a “dangerous rival, who has the arrow pointing up, who plays without pressure and who can do a lot of damage , since They have many arguments and alternatives.”
This was confirmed by the blanquivioleta coach, José Rojo “Pacheta”, who returns to Martín Valero, for the first time, after leaving the Elche team, with whom he obtained promotion to the first division, but who did not train in the highest national football category. Something he was able to do with Real Valladolid, and for this reason, his current stage is worth “about 30 years of career”.
It is therefore a particular reunion, not with the city, where he went on several occasions to visit the friends he left there, but on a sporting level, but he specified that his only thought was “to come back from Elche with the three points, because adding 30 would be a good boost”.
He will not be the only one to return to a playing field in which he competed, since Sergio León, Olaza, Luis Pérez, Iván Sánchez and Kike Pérez have a past from Elche, which will not only be in the team, but most likely, in the starting XI, having completed the sanction cycle in the previous league game.
Although “Pacheta” commented that “there will not be many changes, there always are, due to different circumstances”, as in this case it could be that of Kike Pérez de Roque Mesa, or that of Machís by Iván Sánchez – depending on how the Venezuelan evolved from his muscular discomfort -, or the incorporation of Javi Sánchez into defense, after having been a father.
What seems clear is that Hongla has risen to prominence in midfield, after their full game against Espanyol, and that Plata and Óscar Plano will continue to look for the overflow to reach the rival area and provide passes decisive or hit.
Opposite, an Elche which “is in its best moment”, in the opinion of the Burgos coach, “and which is probably one of the strongest teams from set pieces, which moves well, which has alternatives to aerial play and outside shots”. The area “.
Probable compositions:
Elche: Bay; Carmona, Palaces, Rock, Magellan or Bigas, Clerc, Mascarell, Gumbau, Fidel, Nteka and Lucas Boyé.
Real Valladolid: Sergio Asenjo; Fresneda, Joaquín, Javi Sánchez, Olaza or Escudero; Kike Perez, Hongla; Plata, Plano, Iván Sánchez or Machís; Larin.
Referee: Díaz de Mera Escuderos (Spanish-Manchego Committee).
Campaign; Martinez Valero.
Time: 4:15 p.m.
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Ranking: Elche 20th (12 points) Valladolid 14th (27 points)
The key: Elche want to exploit the depth of their wingers to surprise Valladolid.
The fact: As well as the coach and a large part of the coaching staff, up to five Valladolid players have recent pasts in the Elche squad.
The phrase:
Pablo Machín: “We approach the match with confidence, but not confident”.
The setting: Elche fans will welcome Pacheta, the architect of Elche’s last two promotions, with open arms on his first visit since leaving Martínez Valero. EFE
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