José Ángel Ziganda relies on the strength shown during a good part of the season by his boys at Carlos Tartiere to overcome the hurdle of a Fuenlabrada that arrives in a state of need and continue aspiring to sneak into the top six in the standings. He needs to win everything, or almost everything, the team in his field, and the Navarrese defends the game of the blues when they play at home. “In general terms, most home games have been attractive to watch,” defends the Navarrese.
The coach did admit that away from Tartiere, the perspective changes. “Away from home, the opposite happens. We have not given the performance, nor have we had control of many games, although there have been some very good ones. But despite this, when they play away, the team is noble, they don’t give in and, even if we’re not fine, it’s hard to beat us”, analyzes the coach.
In any case, the Cuckoo urges “to live with the pressure and not lose perspective. We have to know that we have a real chance of hooking up. You are at six points but you can get to three or four. And to a bad one, you have to hold on to the fact that we are professionals. We are lucky and playing a match like the one on Saturday is a privilege”.
The coach also praised the attitude of his team: “The group shows that it is alive. If not, in games like Girona or Lugo he would let go. Tenerife would happen to us more times, that we would give ourselves up. And we don’t. The team is honored.”
A Fuenlabrada arrives who with Sandoval wants to cling to permanence. The profile of the team, in decline, does not make the Blues relax in the least: “Fuenlabrada’s matches are close, with short results, although it is true that many crosses have been falling for them. With Sandoval, who knows the club, knows how to get the most out of the squad, it’s more dangerous. They have tricks with the strategy, the cons… They beat Málaga as they did so many times, in a close game. I expect an aggressive, uncomfortable team that will press.
Carlos Isaac and Jirka, down. Ziganda confirmed in his speech to the media that Carlos Isaac will be absent against Fuenlabrada after suffering a contracture that prevented him from being in the Anxo Carro. Lucas Godfather will be his substitute in the right lane of defense. In addition, Jirka has finally been summoned by Slovakia, so he will not be available for the coach either. The other absence is already known: Hugo Rama saw his fifth yellow card against Lugo and he has to serve a one-match ban.
The positive part is that Jimmy and Brugman, who had presented some physical problems during the week, are fully recovered and count for the coach. The doubts focus again on the tactical system that the Blues will use. Ziganda acknowledged that he already had a clear drawing against Fuenlabrada, although he did not want to leave clues in the press room. The 4-4-2, the 5-4-1 and the 4-3-3 are the three most used schemes in recent weeks by the blue coach.