The draw that indicated Real Madrid as an opponent of Fuenlabrada in the fourth round of the Spanish King’s Cup 2017/2018 edition was a cause of celebration for the players of the tiny team that plays for group 1 of the Second Division which is actually Terceira Division of Spanish football.
The team welcomes the powerful team of the capital on Thursday, October 26. The game begins at 17:30 CET, at the Fernando Torres stadium in Fuenlabrada. From this stage of the competition, the clashes are decided on round trips. The second match will be held at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium on November 29.
The recent performance of Fuenlabrada
Although they have an excellent campaign in the beginning of the 2017/2018 season, the Fuenlabrada athletes’ celebration was not because they believed they would be able to advance in the tournament, but rather because of the possibility of receiving a first-line team in their stadium.
For the most optimistic can serve as ” training ” for when the team reach the elite division of Spanish football. On Saturday, October 21, away from home, Fuenlabrada beat Bouzas Rapido 2-1, extending their unbeaten run to 11 matches (nine wins and two draws). His most recent fall came on August 20 when, at home, he took 2 to 1 of La Coruna B.
With 23 points (seven wins, two draws and one defeat), they are second in Group 1, who rank the top four for the next stage and allow them to dream of reaching La Liga 2, the last stage before the division of the Spanish Championship.
In the King’s Cup, the ranking allowed Fuenlabrada to make their debut in the second phase. It defeated, by 2 to 0, in house, Mérida. Then, out of their dominions, scored 3 to 1 at Calahorra.
The current form of Real
Having the European Champions League and, of course, the Spanish Championship as priorities, Real Madrid should send a team composed almost entirely of reserve athletes and base divisions to face Fuenlabrada. After all, even in the midst of a small ‘disaster’ against the Third Division team, coach Zinedine Zidane will have the opportunity to ‘fix’ the situation in the return game.
The main team entered the field on Sunday, October 22, when, for the ninth round of the Spanish Championship, at home, beat Eibar by 2 to 0. It remained in this way in the third position. With 20 points (six wins, two draws and one loss), he is five behind Barcelona, the leader.
Not only do you need to react in the local tournament as you fight for the first place in Group H of the Champions League. On Nov. 1 he will face Tottenham in London. Teams divide the lead with seven points.
The decision to spare athletes, while having the weakness of the rival as the main motivation, is also affected by the problems of injury that the Real has faced at the beginning of the season. Of the four goalkeepers the team has in the main cast, for example, two are in the medical department. One is the owner of the team, the Costa Rican Keylor Navas (six performances in the 2017/2018 Spanish Championship). The other is the Luca reservation. Also in the ward are defender Daniel Carvajal (six games, no goal); and socks Gareth Bale (five games, two goals) and Mateo Kovacic (two games, no goal).
History of the matches Fuenlabrada vs Real Madrid
This will be the first match between teams.
PREDICTION: Real Madrid win @ 1.12
