Riestra: “We’ll win” in the derby against Oviedo

A derby like a “final”

José Riestra, Sporting’s executive president, said he is confident his side will win the Asturian derby at the Carlos Tartiere and thereby end the long run without victories in Oviedo, which he described as a “final”. His comments came during the presentation of the suicide-prevention campaign ‘Sigue jugando, somos un equipo’, promoted by the Government of Asturias, where he said it was an “honour” for the club to take part.

Riestra added that he spoke about the match with Oviedo president Martín Peláez, who predicted his team would go ahead. Even so, the Sporting executive insisted he expects the opposite and noted that after the game—on Monday—both clubs will need to resume working “hand in hand for Asturias”. He also framed the rivalry as only “90 minutes on the pitch”, while outside of it both institutions carry responsibilities toward the fans, the region and football, according to MARCA.

Fitness updates and absences

On the sporting side, MARCA reports that Sporting have Josifov and Otero back for the derby. Gaspar Campos is a doubt after returning to group training today, while Konrad de la Fuente and youth player Bruno Rubio trained separately. The ones who are still not ready are Hugo Guillamón and Andrés Ferrari, both continuing their rehabilitation.

For Oviedo, Estanis Pedrola will be out with a left-shoulder injury picked up after scoring in Sabadell; today he did not train at El Requexón and his involvement was ruled out. That absence adds to the list of Ilyas Chaira, Brandon Domingues, Carlos Fernández and Nacho Vidal.

Riestra also highlighted the club’s daily work on the “emotional and mental” side, with “a large team of psychologists”. He closed by pointing to the Principality of Asturias’ sponsorship and defended football as a “great showcase” that brings “significant economic spillover”, as stated by MARCA.