Málaga is preparing for its first Copa del Rey match in 34 years, when it visits Sporting de Alcázar at the Manuel Delgado Meco municipal sports center in CiudadReal. The match, scheduled for Tuesday at 9:00 p.m., marks the first time that the Malaga club faces a First Division team since its last visit to Alcázar in 1992, when it played against Diego Maradona's Sevilla.
Sporting de Alcázar, which plays in Group I of Regional Preferente de Castilla‑La Mancha, will have the opportunity to compete against a rival five categories above. The coach, Alberto Abengózar, has stressed that the team is preparing with “a lot of enthusiasm” and that it will not “give away the tie”, with the intention of continuing to dream of the glory of the Cup. The club captain, also Abengózar, expressed his confidence that the team can compete and “make the public enjoy”.
For its part, Málaga, bottom of LaLiga EA Sports with only five points and no victory in ten games, focuses on the cup as a way out of the crisis. Coach Juan Francisco Funes has decided to give prominence to players who are not starters in the league, including goalkeeper Carlos López, defenders Álex Pastor and Juan Berrocal, and recent signings such as the Swede Jens Ctrabajo and left back Adam Aznou. The team will also have forward Eneko Jauregui and defender Juani, who has already completed the preseason with the first team.
The match will be played on a small artificial grass surface, which represents an additional challenge for Málaga, which must overcome the five injuries it has in its squad. The match is also remembered for the defeats of the Malaga club in the last two editions of the Copa del Rey, when they lost to Estepona and Talavera.
The assigned referee will be Víctor García from the Catalan committee. Sporting de Alcázar will have players like Walter Óscar Cáceres, Soriano, Ferraris, Raúl Moreno and Moussa Traoré, while Málaga will field Carlos López, Juani, Pastor, Berrocal, Salinas, Larrubia, Izan Merino, Rafa Rodríguez, Haitam, Chupete and Jauregui.
With the Copa del Rey just around the corner, Málaga is looking for a victory that will allow it to break its bad streak and give its fans a break, while Sporting de Alcázar hopes to take advantage of the opportunity to play against a First Division team to consolidate its dream and generate excitement in its stadium. The outcome of this clash will be a key indicator of how the season will unfold for both clubs.