After Castellón’s disappointing loss to SD Logroñes at the weekend, the first midweek game of the season back at home against Numancia will be a good chance to get back to winning ways and attempt to maintain the 100% winning record at home so far this season.
The team from Soria find themselves in 14th place after a mixed started to the season, and are looking for some consistency. They managed to string together three wins at the backend of September, however their form has dropped off since then and their last game was a loss at home against Real Union.
Team news
Castellón will be without a number of starters. Manu Sanchez and Raul Sanchez are both suspended (accumulation of yellow cards), which leaves Ruben Torrecilla with an interesting puzzle to solve for his starting XI. Manu Sanchez does not have a natural replacement at right back, so we will either see a formation change or someone having to play out of position. Other starters in doubt include Dani Romera, Iago Indias and Salva Ruiz, all of whom missed the last game. Romera hasn’t played for three games in a row.
It will be interesting to see how Torrecilla proceeds, either way we will see some players start who wouldn’t usually, like in the last game against SD Logroñes. Javi Anton could potentially play in wing-back role on the right, which would definitely signal a more attacking approach.
As for Numancia, their side features two ex-Castellón players in Mario Barco and Jesús Carrillo, while Ruben Mesa is their top goalscorer with four in fifteen appearances this season. Having underperformed expectations this season, the side from Soria recently made a coaching change, replacing Diego Martinez with Iñaki Bea, although the results have been largely unchanged so far.
Opponent analysis
As mentioned, Ruben Mesa is Numancia’s main point of attack, although he has formed a great connection with winger Adrian Mancebo, who is a threat from out wide.
Looking at the previous few games, the goals Numancia have conceded have come from a variety of areas, but a high number do seem to result from individual lapses in concentration by defenders, which is something Castellón could exploit. In the last game against Real Union, one goal came from a set piece, and the other when the goalkeeper got caught off his line.
The other very apparent trend is that when the team from Soria score, they score early. In the last five games where they scored, Numancia scored not only first, but within the first ten minutes of the game. Castellón will need to be extremely solid and attentive defensively from the first minute, and weather a potential storm, before settling into the game and creating opportunities for themselves. Although given Numancia are away from home, they might take slightly more cautious approach on this occasion.
Manager comments
Ruben Torrecilla, CD Castellón: “We need to compete and minimise errors. We’re playing a good team, that has a reputation and a name. They’re in a rough spell, but we hope that we will continue to be strong at home and we can counter their strengths because they have good players up front.
We have planned for the two systems that they have been playing under their new coach. They’re a team that work well together and focus their play on Ruben Mesa, who is their focal point. We need to put our working caps on, go for the three points, and continue with the good form we’ve had at home.”