Rested and heading for Galicia

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto travel to Galicia this weekend, specifically to Pontevedra, to face Club Cisne Colegio Los Sauces at the Pabellón Municipal Dos Deportes on Saturday from 19:00, in a match corresponding to the twenty-first round of the Men's Silver Division.

The red and whites arrive at the match rested after the postponement of the previous round’s derby, in which they were due to host Fundación Agustinos Alicante, because of the red alert issued by AEMET due to strong winds. Despite having played one match fewer, the Porteños retain second place in the competition with a total of 30 points.

“This week without competition has been good for us, allowing us to rest and recover players who had accumulated a lot of minutes. It is always important to take points, because in this league, whoever you play against, every match is a different story,” says Oriol Teixidor about the state of the squad.

The opponents find themselves in a completely different situation, as the Pontevedra side have managed just one victory in their last nine matches. They currently sit eleventh in the standings with 15 points, just one place and one point above the relegation positions.

The most recent meeting between the Valencians and the Galicians was the first-leg match, in which the two points stayed at home after the hosts’ 29-22 victory.

“We know they compete very well at home; we saw it less than a month ago when they pushed the leaders all the way to the final minute, so we expect a more evenly matched game than the first leg. I think their results do not reflect the play they show on the 40×20 court,” adds Sergio Mallo about the opponents.

The Galician side have undergone several squad changes compared with the team seen in the Valencian Community in October. Marko Ribić and their former main reference point, Guilherme Linhares, have left the squad and been replaced by two international players: Santiago Bedoya, with the Colombia national team, and Bruno Tavares Landim, a Cape Verde international.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.