Antonio Hidalgo will take Deportivo to the Coliseum of Getafe on Sunday to face José Bordalás in a league match that feels bigger than the table suggests. Deportivo go in unbeaten with eight points, while Getafe have only four and are still trying to steady a start that has not matched the demands of their coach or their home ground.
Hidalgo did not hide the respect he has for Bordalás, calling him a model for coaches who have worked their way up from the bottom and linking that climb to results. “It is about performance and it is clear that Bordalás gets it,” he said, a line that fits a meeting being framed as a duel between two managers who built their careers on getting teams to compete before anyone expected them to.
For Getafe, the numbers explain why Sunday matters. They have taken four points from twelve possible after four league matches, with defeats to Alavés by 3-0 and Osasuna by 1-0, a 1-0 win over Racing and a 1-1 draw with Celta. The team has scored only two league goals, both from Enes Ünal and Martín Satriano, and Borja Mayoral is still waiting for his chance. Bordalás summed up the mood by saying the club is building a new stadium and his team is still “in construction.”
The home side will also have to manage the match with five absences. Zaid Romero is suspended, Abdel Abqar, Kiko Femenía, Juanmi Jiménez and Christantus Uche are in the injury room, and Francho Serrano is a doubt because of discomfort. In the probable setup, Andrés García would cover for Kiko Femenía, while either Boselli or Sazonov would step in for Zaid Romero in a five-man defense alongside Djené, Gudelj and Mojica. Boselli would bring more mobility against Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, while Sazonov would add height and aerial power, with Gudelj staying as the leader of the back line and Mangala operating ahead of it.
Deportivo arrive with a cleaner picture but not a fixed one. Hidalgo could keep the same starting block used last weekend at the Estadio de la Cerámica in Villarreal, where Deportivo won, with Yeremay Hernández replacing Riki on the left and Amatucci and Mario Soriano again handling the midfield. The late arrival of Marc Casadó keeps one place open, and Deportivo are still waiting to learn how much he will change the lineup. That is the last piece before kickoff on Sunday: whether Hidalgo keeps faith with the group that has kept Deportivo unbeaten, or uses Casadó in a match that asks for control as much as caution.
