Castellón/Huesca, January 2 (EFE).- Castellón, in the promotion zone, and Huesca, two points from relegation, start the new year 2026 at the SkyFi Castalia Stadium, where the locals want to continue the brilliant months with which they ended last year and the visitors hope to finally find regularity.
The Albinegros ended 2025 with a controversial defeat in Cádiz, where they were defeated 2-0 in a game in which Castellón, with the first result, scored a goal that was annulled but which, in the opinion of the Technical Referee Committee, should have ended up on the scoreboard.
That defeat wasn’t enough to ruin the team’s brilliant career since Pablo Hernández took charge of the locker room. In the fourteen games in which they dominated, Castellón achieved nine wins, two draws and three defeats.
With 29 out of 42 possible points, the team is in fifth place, in the promotion zone and three points away from direct promotion.
Pablo Hernández will be the big news when he returns to the bench after a bout of renal colic that prevented him from being in Cadiz. The coach also brings back Adam Jakobsen, but defends the loss of Brian Cipenga, who continues with the Congo team at the Africa Cup of Nations.
At the top is Huesca, which wants to surprise in Castellón and add three points to consolidate itself in mid-table to avoid difficulties. In doing so, Huesca is aware that its Achilles heel is adding points away from home, which is crucial in a classification with few differences between many teams.
At the beginning of the year, the team from Huesca set out to improve their performance and, above all, get points away from home, quite the opposite of what is happening in their fiefdom, El Alcoraz, where they win games more easily.
In principle, Huesca coach Jon Pérez “Bolo” has almost the entire squad available for this game, as midfielders Jordi Martín and Javi Mier already have medical and sporting clearance and could therefore be available to play in tomorrow’s game after many months of break due to their knee injuries, having not played since last season.
However, the same cannot be said for center forward Diego Aznar, who will not play until next season, and Samuel Ntamack, who will not return to the pitches for a few weeks.
Until the new signings arrive, it is not expected that the Huesca coach, who has a fairly defined starting XI and could continue to rely on the same players, will make any changes to the lineup.
The team’s captain, Jorge Pulido, is the center of all eyes and comments as Almería are interested in acquiring his services. Neither the coach, in the previous press conference, nor the player himself. They denied that he could move to the Andalusian team, although “Bolo” confirmed that he will play tomorrow and then “we will see what happens.”
– Likely alignments:
Castellon: Matthys; Mellot, Alcázar, Alberto Jiménez, Sienra; Barri, Gerenabarrena; Mabil, Pablo Santiago, Calatrava, Camara.
Huesca: Dani Jiménez; Carrillo, Piña, Pulido, Alonso; Sielva, Alvarez, Portillo; Agel Pérez, Ojeda or Luna, Enol.
Referee: Miguel González (Asturian Committee)
Stadium: SkyFi Castalia.
Time: 16:15. EFE
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