Eibar will be without Jair, Arambarri and Bernat for its second preseason test against Athletic on Saturday, a narrow but telling change to the squad less than a day before kickoff. The three will not dress, with the club choosing load management rather than risk ahead of the 19:00 match at Gazituaga.
That is why the fixture is being followed now: Eibar is trying to get through pretemporada with a reduced group while still putting together a competitive roster. Oier Llorente Korta, Lukas Sarasketa and Jonan Gromaz have been added from the filial to complete the call-up, lifting the squad to 24 names for a game that already comes with the practical pressure of a second summer test.
The wider picture is uneven. Eibar’s first preseason match left positive feelings against Deportivo Alavés, but the next step is being taken with Jon Guruzeta, Peru Nolaskoain, Lander Olaetxea and Luis López still in recovery, and Iván Gil not involved because he joined training nearly a week later than the rest. For a side still building rhythm, that mix of absences and late arrivals matters as much as the opponent.
Jonmi Magunagoitia is the clearest sign that not everything is about what Eibar is missing. He will wear the gloves for the first time this season after getting past a right calf muscle overload, giving the team a fresh start in goal as it manages the rest of the group around him. The move fits a preseason that is less about settled answers than about keeping enough players available to keep moving.
Even with three first-team players ruled out, the response has been to pull in more help from the filial rather than slow the schedule. That leaves Saturday’s meeting at Gazituaga as both a fitness checkpoint and a squad test, with the unresolved question not the opponent but whether the workload decisions are only precautionary or the first sign of a longer stretch of absences.
