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Trival Valderas will be hoping to cause a Copa del Rey upset when they take on Leganes in the first round of the competition on Tuesday night at Estadio Municipal de Butarque.
The fifth-tier side head into the contest without a win in their last four Tercera Federacion Group 7 matches, while the visitors are also enduring a difficult spell in Spanish football's second tier, having failed to win any of their last seven league games.
Leganes will hope their superior quality and greater experience can help them secure victory, with the visitors in desperate need of a positive result after failing to win any of their last seven matches, losing six of those encounters.
Luis Carrion's side suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Albacete on Saturday, leaving them 17th in the Segunda Division table with 12 points from 13 matches.
Their defensive problems have been particularly costly, with Leganes conceding 23 goals in those 13 league fixtures, a tally surpassed by only three teams in the division.
There is, however, a significant difference between the standard of Leganes' league opponents and the challenge presented by Tuesday's hosts, and the visitors will be aiming to reach the Copa del Rey second round for the fourth consecutive season.
Their ultimate ambition will be to match their best run in the competition by reaching the semi-finals, a feat they achieved in the 2017-18 campaign, although they also progressed to the quarter-finals in 2024-25.
The match will take place at Leganes' home ground despite Trival Valderas being the designated home team, as the visitors' Estadio La Canaleja does not meet the necessary requirements to host the cup tie.
Valderas enter this game on the back of three consecutive league draws, leaving them ninth in the table with 14 points from nine matches, having won three, drawn five and lost just once, while scoring 14 goals and conceding 11.
Their most recent outing before this cup assignment was a 2-2 draw against Galapagar last Sunday, with the Alcorcon side twice surrendering the lead, leaving them with identical results in their last three matches after also drawing 2-2 against Leganes B and Cala Pozuelo.
Trival Valderas will now face a significant step up in quality against Leganes in what will be the first meeting between the two sides in any competition, while the hosts are making their first appearance at this stage of the Copa del Rey since the 2014-15 season.
The Madrid-based side enter the competition as representatives of the Tercera Federacion's Madrid group, having come close to securing promotion last season.
Trival Valderas form (all competitions):
Leganes form (all competitions):
Trival Valderas have not reported any major injury concerns ahead of the cup tie, leaving manager Raul Montero with several options as he prepares his side for the challenge.
The hosts are expected to adopt a five-man defensive line, with attacking wing-backs providing width, while three central midfielders will look to support their forwards on the counter-attack.
Leganes are monitoring the fitness of Lalo Aguilar and Ignasi Miquel, who were not considered fully fit ahead of the defeat to Albacete.
Miguel Atienza and Alvaro Tejero have returned to contention, with Atienza featuring against Albacete, giving Carrion additional options as he considers changes to his starting lineup.
Former Real Madrid forward Alvaro Morata has scored three goals in his last two appearances since returning from suspension, and his experience and attacking quality could prove decisive against lower-league opposition.
Trival Valderas possible starting lineup:
Arias; Guzman, Pascual, Lopez, Jimenez, Diez; Reguera, Rioja, Gozalo; Rivero, Bielo
Leganes possible starting lineup:
Zidane; Pena, Marvel, Montero, Franquesa; Sancris, Atienza, Zico, Gharbi; Millan, Morata
Trival Valderas may make the visitors work for their progress, but Leganes should have enough quality and experience to avoid an upset and secure their place in the next round.
With Morata leading the attack and the hosts facing a considerable step up in opposition, we expect the Segunda Division side to claim a comfortable victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.