Tonight, UD Ibiza faces one of the most exciting and decisive outings of the season to Montilivi (9:00pm), where they can firmly present its candidacy for the promotion play-off with a win over Girona FC or distance themselves by nine points in the event of defeat.
The newly promoted side will be looking to extend their spectacular campaign and strike another blow in the league against the team who occupy the promotion places, a Girona side who are ready to return to the First Division and whose morale is boosted by two consecutive victories against Real Oviedo and UD Las Palmas.
The Ibizan team will be supported in the stands of Montilivi by around a hundred Celeste fans in a vital game to keep the Celeste dream alive. Paco Jémez‘s side, who are just two wins away from securing their place in the top flight, are looking to cut the gap to three points on Girona and return to winning form after two draws in a row against Ponferradina and Leganés last week at Can Misses. UD Ibiza also need to recover their best away form, where they are one of the best in the division, after two defeats and a draw. Their last away win was a 5-0 victory at La Rosaleda against Málaga on 22 January.
However, Girona will be hoping to continue their good form at Montilivi and celebrate their tenth home win of the season in order to challenge for direct promotion, from which they are now separated by 10 points. As a statistical note it should be noted that Paco Jémez has conceded three defeats in three games played in Girona: a 3-1 with Cordoba (2012), a 6-0 with Las Palmas (2018) and a 3-1 with Rayo Vallecano (2019).
The coach of UD Ibiza will be able to recover important players from the infirmary such as winger Álvaro Jiménez and David Goldar in defense, who have trained as normal this week. The Celeste coach will also be able to count on Manu Molina again, who missed the last match against Leganés due to suspension, while Goldar and Escobar are suspended for this match. Celeste striker Sergio Castel could return, while Javi Pérez and Alejandro Gálvez remain sidelined.
As for Míchel Sánchez’s eleven, Nahuel Bustos scored a brace in Las Palmas and already has seven goals in La Liga, five more than last season, but he is expected to give his place on the front line to Cristhian Stuani, who is available after serving his suspension. The Uruguayan is the top scorer alongside Stoichkov and Borja Bastón (16).
Samu Sáiz could also return to the starting line-up after playing a key role in the comeback in Gran Canaria. Juanpe, Darío Sarmiento, Valery Fernández and Ibrahima Kébé are out through injury.
Álvaro Jiménez and Manu Molina return for UD Ibiza
The UD Ibiza expedition left by plane for Catalonia yesterday afternoon, where tonight they have a very important match at the Montilivi stadium in Girona. The squad includes players such as Manu Molina, who returns after serving a one-match ban, and Álvaro Jiménez, who has recovered from injury.
Germán, Herrera and Cifu re-live years spent at Montilivi
Celestes Germán Parreño, Cifuentes and Cristian Herrera all spent time with Girona at different stages and with very different roles and significance. While Cifu was a much-loved player by the fans, goalkeeper Germán barely enjoyed time on field, quite the opposite to the Canary Islander Herrera, who in two seasons accumulated 54 appearances, nine goals and achieved promotion to Primera in 2017.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.