Will Gerard Moreno be fit for Valladolid and what does that mean for Take Kubo?

According to Javi Mata over at AS, Gerard Moreno will be back training with the group today as he prepares to make his return from injury. The ideas is that he may travel to the game against Qarabag but that the focus is having him ready for our next league match against Real Valladolid.

Gerard is our overall best forward. As this team has taken injury after injury we eventually found ourselves missing arguably our three most influential players in terms of shot creation in Gerard, Parejo, and Estupinan, and getting one of them back is a massive boost, especially for a match against a struggling Valladolid side who will want to sit back in a block not entirely dissimilar from what we just saw against Cadiz. Moreno’s experience and ability to drop team should make a huge difference.

The person likely to lose the most from this is of course Take Kubo. Immense against Sivasspor but (like the rest of the team) very quiet against Cadiz, the young Real Madrid loannee will have to move to the left if he is to keep his spot in the side with Gerard around. The difference between the two is striking, not only is Gerard a much better shooter, he also gives away possession considerably less while generating far more expected assists per 100 touches of the ball and per 90.

Valladolid is a match we need to win. They are firmly rooted to the bottom of the league and as things presently sit probably will not accumulate too many points this season, especially off clubs that we are battling with to get into Europe. We need to go out and take care of business, and I’m very glad we’ll have Gerard to help us do it.