Gary Neville has a great chance to seal his first win as Valencia boss at the third attempt when Los Che host third-tier Barakaldo at the Mestalla today.
Valencia already lead the Basques 3-1 from the first leg before Neville’s appointment two weeks ago.
Real Madrid’s expulsion from the competition for fielding an ineligible player against Cadiz could open the door for a winner outside Spanish soccer’s dominant top three of Real, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid for the first time since 2009-2010 and Neville has targeted winning either the Copa del Rey or the UEFA Europa League as one of his prime targets in his short stint at Valencia between now and the end of the season.
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“Valencia have to win trophies,” Neville told the club’s Web site. “The players have to experience the medal round their neck to give them confidence and belief.”
Holders Barcelona have already assured their place in the round-of-16 with a 6-1 thrashing of Villanovense and, aside from Real Madrid’s monumental error in fielding Russia international Denis Cheryshev when he was suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards last season, there was little drama in the fourth round first legs, as almost all of La Liga’s big guns look on course to progress.
Atletico Madrid moved joint top of La Liga with an eighth consecutive victory in all competitions against Athletic Bilbao at the weekend and should make it nine when Reus Deportiu visit the Vicente Calderon.
Diego Simeone’s men hold a 2-1 advantage from the first leg, despite naming a much-changed side and a number of fringe players are likely to get another chance to impress tomorrow.
Villarreal are one of the few top sides with work to do as they seek to overturn a 3-2 first-leg deficit when they host second-tier SD Huesca fresh from beating Real Madrid.
La Liga strugglers Granada and Malaga trail CD Leganes and CD Mirandes 2-1 respectively, and despite their great start to the league season, Sociedad Deportiva Eibar have an even more difficult task as they trail Sociedad Deportiva Ponferradina 3-0.
Meanwhile, last season’s beaten finalists Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla, RC Celta de Vigo and RC Deportivo de la Coruna are all well set to progress as they hold comfortable leads against lower-league opposition with the home leg to come.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
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