Our prediction for this Copa del Rey match:
Sporting Gijon and Valencia take on each other at Estadio El Molinon in what will be their first meeting since 2019. Back then Valencia rolled over Gijon 3-0 in the Copa del Rey, and los Che are seen as favourites to win Wednesday’s clash as well. Since Genaro Gattuso’s men produced a fine performance in the Spanish Super Cup defeat to Real Madrid, away win should be considered. Keep in mind, though, that all Castillejo, Domenech, and Nico are likely to miss the game with injuries.
Los Rojiblancos, on the other hand, failed to impress in a 2-0 loss to Racing Santander, which is yet another reason why we predict the visitors will advance to the Spanish Cup quarter-finals. Both Rivera and Cristo are pushing for a start as duo Diaz – Gonzalez failed to impress in the last league match, while Uros Djurdjevic is back from suspension.
Highlighted Player (Diego Marino):
Diego Marino is a Spanish goalkeeper who plays for Sporting Gijon. The 185-cm-tall shoot-stopper was born on 9 May, 1990 in Vigo and he played for the likes of Santa Marina, Rapido Bouzas, Sardoma, Areosa and Villarreal during his youth career. Between 2008 and 2010 he played for Villarreal C and in 2010 he started playing for Villarreal B.
Marino made 72 appearances for Villarreal B and in 2012 he joined the first team. He was not Villarreal’s first-choice goalkeeper in the 2012/2013 campaign and he made no more than nine appearances for the Yellow Submarine. In the 2015/2016 season he played for Levante, but following their relegation to Segunda Division, Diego Marino decided to sign a deal with Sporting Gijon on 1 July, 2016.
The goalkeeper has 6 caps for Spain U-21, while playing 3 games for Spain U23. It has to be noted that he won UEFA U-21 Championships in 2011 and 2013 with La Furia Roja. Back in 2007 he made it to the FIFA U-17 World Cup final with the Spanish national team.
Highlighted Team (Valencia):
Founded on March 18, 1919, Valencia FC are a Spanish football club that compete in La Liga. Los Che play their home games at Estadio de Mestalla, the stadium which was opened back in May, 1923. The capacity of the venue is 50,000. Seeing that bats are quite common in Valencia, it is no surprise they are nicknamed the Bats.
Valencia made it to the Champions League final on two occasions (2000, 2001), but they were beaten in the title games by Real Madrid and Bayern Munchen respectively. The Spanish club, though, did well to win the UEFA Cup title in the 2003/2004 season, with the team beating Marseille in the final of the competition.
A number of top-class footballers were part of the club in the past, with the likes of Pablo Aimar, Ruben Baraja, David Albelda, Santiago Canizares, John Carew and Gaizka Mendieta all playing for the Estadio de Mestalla outfit. Valencia main colors are white and black, whilst they often where orange jerseys and shorts when playing on the travels.