The sanctions will change Iraola’s roadmap for the match against Espanyol. The Rayo coach loses one of his bulwarks in the midfield, Óscar Valentín, who saw the fifth yellow at Villamarín. The man from Ajofrín has participated in 31 of the 34 days played so far, starting 26 of them. This will be a sensitive loss for the Basque coach, since his work with Comesaña is essentialcontributing a great balance to the franjirrojo team.
However, it will not be the only absence that Iraola will have to deal with. Mario Suárez has received a two-game ban for his protests to the referee. More specifically, Pulido Santana’s assistant. Something that cost him the expulsion in the 97th minute. The minutes of said meeting stated that that red card came from “protesting from the technical area to an assistant referee repeating on several occasions: ‘Dedicate yourself to doing your job well’. This will mean that the captain will miss the matches against Espanyol and Real Madrid, although he was not enjoying minutes in the League, where he only added five against the parrots in the first round.
Both losses will open the doors of the eleven to Pathé Ciss, whose last ownership dates from the defeat against Elche (4-0). The Senegalese midfielder —the last red-fringed World Cup player— has been in the game eleven times, Giving a great performance in the league debut at the Camp Nou and in the next game at Cornellà, where he ended up playing as a central defender due to the expulsion of Lejeune. Precisely, the inclusion of the Frenchman in the eleven on Sunday is another of the unknowns of the Usurbil, who kept Mumin in the axis of the rear against Betis.