The victory in the Cup against Varea has served to give a boost of confidence and morale to a team coming off two consecutive defeats, the last one particularly tough due to how it happened. Andorra did not play a bad match against Burgos, but mistakes were especially costly for a team that stumbled over the same stone again.
On Thursday, in Logroño, the tricolors regained their form in a serious and well-fought match, and coach Carles Manso already highlighted that the game also served "to add more players to the cause": Diego Díaz and Rijkhoff scored their first goals, Marc Domènech and Alende gained valuable playing time after being suspended in the last match, and Nico Ratti, Enes Sali, and Tiago played their first minutes of the season.
The kings of 1-1
To get back on the winning track in the league, Andorra will face a team that occupies the middle of the table and has started the league strong but has since lost momentum. After returning to LaLiga – the Tenerife team cruised through their year of penance in Primera RFEF – Álvaro Cervera's team began the season with two consecutive victories against Eibar and Almería, but they have not won since matchday 5.
In these five matches, however, the chicharreros have managed four draws – all of them 1-1 – which have allowed them to remain in a comfortable thirteenth position.
The eternal youth of Enric Gallego
But if there is one standout from Tenerife's start to the season, it is their forward Enric Gallego. At 40 years old, the Catalan striker is the top scorer in the category with seven goals, numbers that make him the most dangerous player for the Canary Islands team.
In fact, Gallego – who scored 19 goals last season in Primera RFEF – has scored more than half of the team's 13 goals, a team that doesn't need much possession to create danger. Tenerife is the team with the least possession and the fewest shots in the category, yet they still hold a comfortable position in the standings.
Former tricolor Dani Martín in goal
If Enric Gallego is the threat up front, the goal is covered by a familiar face for the tricolor fans. Dani Martín is in his second season in the Canary Islands with a very prominent role. Here in the Principality, Martín played the 2023/24 season with 16 matches – all of them in the league – and conceded 18 goals.
On the other hand, in Andorra's squad, there is also a player with a past at Tenerife, although with a much more minor role. Andoni López played for the chicharrera club in 2022, but he only stayed for six months and played two matches.
Six precedents between Andorra and Tenerife
The Pyreneans and the Canarians have faced each other on six occasions throughout their history, with a slightly favorable balance for Tenerife. In the most recent encounters, during Andorra's first two seasons in professional football, the balance is even with two draws at the Heliodoro Rodríguez López and one victory for each team in the matches played at the Nacional.
To find the first time both teams faced each other, however, you have to go back more than 40 years: it was during the 1982/83 season in the Segunda División B, a season that ended with one victory and one draw in the direct encounters and with Tenerife's return to the second division.
Álvaro Cervera: "I really like how Andorra plays"
The Tenerife coach Álvaro Cervera appeared this afternoon at a press conference and emphasized the need to secure three points soon after so many matches without a win. "We need to win soon, or else everything we've done will be forgotten," he said. On the other hand, Cervera also spoke about Andorra, describing them as an attractive team. "They don't play the same way I do, but I like them a lot," he explained.
Meanwhile, Carles Manso also spoke this morning from the hotel in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Waiting for the sky
The Cabildo of Tenerife has declared an orange alert due to the risk of heavy rainfall on the island throughout Sunday. Thus, although the subtropical climate of the Canary Islands will provide the tricolor expedition with much more pleasant temperatures than those of the Principality —around 25 degrees at the time of the match, according to forecasts—, the sky will be one of the factors to consider during Sunday's events.
(Updated at 8 PM)
From Logroño to Tenerife
The 26 men who left for La Rioja on Wednesday will be the same ones traveling to the Canary Islands. The tricolor expedition did not return to Andorra after the Copa match, and Carles Manso will have options to make the final squad selection with the returns of Pau López and Andoni López, who were injured in recent weeks, and the sanctioned Alende and Marc Domènech.
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