Athletic, immersed in the final phase of the pre-season, faces the first of three friendly matches this afternoon that he will play in an interval of only six days to close his summer preparation. with the encounters against Eibar in Las Llanas (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.) and Manchester United in Dublin (Sunday, 5:00 p.m.) on view before the league debut against Real Madrid in San Mamés on August 12, the rojiblanco team visits Celtic in Glasgow this Tuesday in a demanding test that will begin at 8:30 p.m. in Celtic Park. It seems like a major test for Ernesto Valverde’s troops, who have added a victory, a defeat and a draw in the three previous friendlies.
The matches against Chivas (2-0) and Necaxa (0-2) in Mexico, as well as the one that took place last Thursday in Santa María de Cayón against Racing Santander (0-0) have helped the coach to distribute minutes and try different variants, especially in the center of defense. Against the Cantabrian team, however, the bulk of headlines could be seen in action for 60 minutes in what was an initial declaration of intent by Valverde, who he is expected to pull his core of confidence again to face Celtic this afternoon, who is playing their sixth pre-season friendly before the Scottish league kicks off on August 5.
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The 23-player squad designed by Txingurri is in that vein, although there are notable absences from the expedition. Oihan Sancet is not among the displaced due to lack of rhythm after returning from his vacation on Saturday, nor the headdresses Yeray Álvarez, Dani García, Nico Williams, Alex Berenguer and Yuri Berchiche. In the case of the latter, out of the group since the beginning of the preseason due to the fibula fracture he suffered in the last league game last year, it is expected that he will receive a medical discharge this week, while that Yeray presented an overload in the right adductor and Dani García a sprained left ankle. Of the five rojiblancos called up with physical problems, the only one who was able to take part in yesterday’s training session was Berenguer, who, however, was unable to complete it, just like Mikel Vesga, who does appear in the squad for Glasgow.
Vencedor and Nico Serrano, who are left off the list for Glasgow, aim to leave Athletic
Nico Serrano and Unai Vencedor, whose departures on loan are suspected to be imminent, remain on land, unlike Javi Marton, who this time has managed to join the call after being ruled out against Racing. Author of a brace against Necaxa and another goal in the one-hour match played on Saturday against Bilbao Athletic in Lezama, the striker from Navarra is listed as the team’s top scorer in a preseason in which, however, he has been publicly designated by Valverde as a firm candidate to leave on loan as soon as he arrived from the Real Sociedad subsidiary. The one from Viandar de la Vera, even so, qualified at the end of the friendly against Racing that he wanted to see more of the striker and he will do so against Celtic in a demanding summer commitment for which the puppies have also been recruited, as a result of necessity. Unai Egiluz and Hugo Corner.
possible alignment
With less than 48 hours to spare compared to this Thursday’s match against Eibar in Las Llanas, Valverde is expected to define two different blocks to face both matches and that those who start as starters today repeat in a large majority on Sunday against Manchester United in the last summer test. The line-up against Celtic, as it was, could once again be made up of the bulk of starters, in the absence of headdresses and Sancet, still lacking in filming.
Two clearer options than Yuri Berchiche’s
One of the main points of interest concerns the left side, a sector in which Iñigo Lekue and Imanol Garcia de Albéniz are fighting for a title who will assume one of the two against Real Madrid in the event that Berchiche does not arrive on time. In the group’s debit, meanwhile, is the lack of a goal after the three friendlies played outside of Lezama. In two of them, without going any further, Valverde’s men have been left without scoring, who demands a greater forcefulness from his attacking men with a view to the new season.
“What interests us is to have chances to score and generate more danger, because sometimes it is too difficult for us to finish when trying to make a wall in a square meter when it is obvious that a more forceful solution must be found. It was difficult for us last year at times and we have to review that”, acknowledged the rojiblanco coach after the recent goalless draw in Cayón, a test prior to the visit to a Celtic team that they lost two weeks ago by a striking 6-4 against Yokohama Marinos their only friendly of the preseason.
2023-08-01 05:43:38
#Celtic #raise #Athletics #demands
