Getafe find themselves in the middle of the Primera Division table and will aim to cement their spot in the centre of the standings when they meet a Zaragoza side in transition on Monday evening.
Los Manos have jettisoned their coach over the last week and Michel, the coach of the home side is already starting to come under some severe scrutiny. Guiding el Geta to the Europa League may buy him some time, but with an ambitious president in the boardroom success is required.
No matter the feelings from above, the players still remain behind their coach. “We have shown that we are with him, and that we will support him. We are professional about this and we have to take the situation forward,” Dani Parejo told the press earlier this week.
“We have went five games without winning including the Copa del Rey. Our morale is a little low. However we must be confident that we can defeat Zaragoza and bring this bad streak to an end.”
Club captain Manu del Moral echoed these comments when speaking exclusively to Goal.com. “We know we are going through a rough patch and have to move forward and the best time for that is Monday because it's a match against a direct rival,” he said.
“The truth is that so far, every game Getafe has lost, except at home to Malaga, have been to teams with great authority and in principle should be higher than us in the standings.”
Los Azulones are clearly determined to win some valuable points on Monday, but their opponents will be equally eager for the win.
No Magic Wand
Getafe’s position may be awkward, but Zaragoza’s is already precarious. Sitting at the foot of the standings, los Manos have earned only seven points to date this season, winning only once in 11 matches. The fire-fighting at La Romareda began in earnest this week when the expected departure of Jose Aurelio Gay was confirmed.
The suggestion in Spain has been that his sacking was simply delayed while the club sought a successor, and they were quick to find him in the form of Mexican boss Javier Aguirre, known for spells with Osasuna, Atletico Madrid and a couple of stints with his national team. It’s a significant task to rouse the sleeping club, but the 51-year-old feels he is up to it.
“I've spent seven seasons in Spain and Real Zaragoza are one of the big sides,” he told the press upon his appointment. “It's an important step in my career. I'm very excited because it's a huge project.
“They've had some difficult times recently and it's a challenge, but with the help of everyone we can save ourselves. As well as that, there is a long way to go in the season and there's time to recover.
“This squad has the quality to play football. That's the idea, that the team enjoys themselves, keeps possession and is competitive. With this squad it's possible to save ourselves.”
Aguirre has been keen to emphasise the fact he has no “magic wand” and will not be able to turn the situation around quickly, but equally the ex-midfielder wants his men to play each match as if it was their last, starting with Getafe on Monday.
TEAM NEWS
Getafe
El Geta still have an array of issues. Victor Sanchez still has a hamstring issue but has been training, while Ibrahim Kas has suffered from gastroenteritis this week and Borja Fernandez is also a doubt. Jaime Gavilan just overcome a muscle tear in his right leg.
Mario is a long-term injury issue, and Miguel Torres is very unlikely to play. Javier Arizmendi didn’t feature last weekend after being taken to hospital due to suffering illness at half-time the previous week.
Zaragoza
Javier Paredes and Florent Sinama Pongolle are both involved in Javier Aguirre’s first squad. Maurizio Lanzaro misses out but Ander Herrera is the key absentee.
Prediction
Javier Aguirre may be no magician, but teams who appoint a new coach have a remarkable tendency to quickly improve. Zaragoza may not be able to go to Madrid and beat Getafe, but they can certainly hope for a point at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez, where los Azulones have been struggling to find form of late.
Getafe 1-1 Zaragoza 
