Cup Drums in El Sadar

First real final of the season on January 17, just two days before the start of Tamborrada. A Real team that has lost a bit after losing the derby and dropped in the Champions League positions is fighting a life-to-death duel to stay alive in the Cup against Osasuna, with the added handicap of doing so in ‘Comanche territory’ . Sadar will have one of its big nights today and are not the classic First Division team prioritizing the League and going out with the less common ones. With 18 games in the League, the Navarrese team is left without too much incentive in the regularity tournament and is putting all its eggs in the cup basket. Jagoba He is going all in, encouraged by last year’s encouraging experience, where he reached the final and was minutes away from going to extra time and was ‘sick’ after falling in the Super Cup.

It will be a night battle in a packed El Sadar at 9 pm on a cold Wednesday in January. La Real is a thousand miles from the team of two months ago, when it was a storm in the Champions League and won without pressing too much in the League; but with Imanol he was not used to connecting two disappointments. He always reacts, especially when he’s the one who gets hurt the most. After the derby, because of the results and the sensation, they have to raise their heads 82 kilometers from home to put themselves in the quarterfinals of the Cup and continue feeding the dream of repeating the title, like in 2021, but in this time with La Cartuja in the credits.

Sadiq’s incredible presence

In this mission to secure a fourth consecutive victory in this edition of the Cup, Imanol the luck yesterday to call Sadiq Umar. It is a kind of miracle. Or misunderstanding. Or confusion. Four days ago he was not there to play for Nigeria, they withdrew him from the Africa Cup and now he can jump on a field where on December 2 he dazzled with a great goal that still shakes the foundation of the new Pamplona coliseum. Unbelievable.

This is the case, with a better armed and more complete front line, Imanol designed a call of 22 without hut neither Traorewith their teams, and there were no injuries Odriozola and Carlos Fernandez. What emerges is Andre Silva with some more training, but not fit to be a starter. It is also Martin Zubimendi, noticeably hindered by some discomfort in the gluteus. He doesn’t practice, but he plays. And he does it at a standard level. Ayesha, Magunazelaia and Jon Mikel Aramburu They are the representatives of the subsidiary.

The cracks, more Remiro

Txuri Urdin played the derby on Saturday and will repeat it in three days against Celta in the Liga for the fourth consecutive game away from home. And yet, it is foreseeable that Imanol will go all out. With the best it has, its stars, its fetish players. That might come in Aihen, despite the fact that he didn’t train yesterday after a bad night. And it is not put aside Turrientes. And the rest, the usual ‘purity dynamite’. Not much margin either. The normal thing is that Remiro is back in goal after three consecutive games of Marrerothe first after the expulsion of Cascantino.

Similar assumption a Jagoba Arrasate only regrets the absence of the injured Chimy Avila and of Nacho Vidalset to hit the market this winter.

Champion in 2021 against the finalist in 2023. Two ‘realzales’ on the bench and a duel that is already classic in the League, Cup and every summer. There is a dream at stake. Bagoaz, gu ere bai. Lifting can be promoted.