The leaders test the new coaching staff after the Christmas break

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto travel to Andalusia this Saturday to face the current leaders of the División de Honor Plata Masculina, Cajasol Sevilla BM Proin, in the first match of the second half of the competition, from 20:30 at Centro Deportivo Amate.

It will be a day of debuts for the new coaching staff, both for Sergio Mallo as head coach and Manu Etayo as assistant, replacing the previous coach, Toni Malla, who recently paid the release clause in his contract and left voluntarily.

The red-and-whites went into the Christmas break with a meritorious victory (24-25) in Galicia, away to Attica 21 Hotels OAR Coruña, in what was the final match of the first part of the season. The two points saw them go into the holidays in third place, with 22 points, and able to regain top spot through their own results in January, as they still have to play the postponed match against Balonmano Servigroup Benidorm, postponed because of AEMET’s red alert in December.

The Sevillians, meanwhile, welcome the Valencians from the top of the table, with 24 points, following six consecutive victories in their last six matches.

“The players are responding very well to everything this new coaching staff is trying to convey. Visiting the leaders is an extra motivation and a test of both our work and our fitness. We want to continue showing why we went into the Christmas break where we are,” says Sergio Mallo about his first impressions of the squad and what it means to visit the leaders.

The first-leg meeting took place in September at Pabellón Port de Sagunt, serving as the opening match for both teams. The result favoured the home side, 28-24. Another factor to consider in the event of defeat will be the head-to-head goal difference between the teams, in the event of a hypothetical points tie at the end of the regular season.

“The great team they already had must be supplemented by the quality new signings they have made with the season already under way. We know it will be very difficult to play at their ground, but I think we have had some very good weeks of training and are ready to earn points,” says Alberto Serradilla about the opponents they will face and the difficulty of playing at their home venue, where every match has ended in victory for them.

The Sevilla squad has undergone several changes since that last-mentioned match. In November, they replaced Balsa Stevovic with the quality signing of Tito Díaz from IRUDEK Bidasoa Irun. Even more recently, they signed goalkeeper Ramón Fuentes from the current bottom side, Club Balonmano Alcobendas, who will form a partnership with Kilian Ramírez in one of the best goalkeeping duos in the domestic competition.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.