Our prediction for this Copa del Rey match:
Gimnastic and Osasuna go head to head at Nou Estadi de Tarragona in the Spanish Cup last 32. Gimnastic are fighting hard to secure a top-five finish in Segunda B, but they will leave their hearts on the field in Thursday’s Copa del Rey game as well. Pablo Fernandez could sneak into the starting XI after scoring the winner as a substitute in a 2-1 win over Malaga.
Los Rojillos, on the other hand, aim to recover from a 2-0 loss to Real Sociedad. Osasuna are not regarded as good travellers, but seeing that Jagoba Arrasate can count on key players for the midweek showdown, we are tempted to put our money on the La Liga side. All Barja, Brasanac, and Ez Abde are pushing for a place in the starting XI after the trio came from the bench in the Basque derby, while Nacho Vidal remains in the recovery room.
Highlighted Player (David Garcia):
David Garcia is a Spanish player who started his youth career at Maspalomas. After making 65 appearances for Vecindario in lower leagues, he joined Las Palmas in 2003. David Garcia is a centre back, but he is capable of playing as a right back if needed. He was born on 25 February, 1982 and it is more than obvious that he dedicated his football career to Las Palmas.
Garcia made his professional debut in September, 2013 in a 2-1 victory at Elche. However, he made no more than seven league appearances for Las Palmas in the 2003/2004 season. David Garcia, though, quickly established himself as a first-team regular and it has to be noted that he played 394 league games for los Amarillos until the 2016/2017 season.
He made 37 appearances for Las Palmas in the 2014/2015 Segunda Division campaign, helping the team secure promotion to the Spanish top flight, but he played no more than 19 games for the club in the 2015/2016 Primera Division campaign. His contract with Las Palmas expires on 30 June, 2017.
Highlighted Team (Osasuna):
Osasuna are a Basque football team that plays in Spanish La Liga. Los Rojillos are based in Pamplona and and the club were founded in 1920. Estadio El Sadar has been the home of Osasuna since 1967 and the capacity of the stadium is 19,800.
The colour of Osasuna’s home kit is red, while the team’s shorts are navy blue. Los Rojillos dropped to the Segunda Division at the end of the 2013/2014 La Liga campaign, but they did not spend too many time in the Spanish second tier. The club returned to the elite division in 2016 after beating Girona in the play-offs.
Osasuna made it to the Spanish Copa del Rey final in 2005, but they eventually lost to Real Betis after extra time in the title game. The meaning of the word Osasuna is “health” in Basque and it is used in a sense of strength.