Castellón face busy week after Linares win

Castellón's 4-1 win against Linares might have been impressive, especially coming back from a disappointing loss to Ibiza the week before, but it's only the beginning of what will be an extremely busy seven days for the Albinegros. They face Real Oviedo on Tuesday at Castalia in the Copa del Rey, a marquee matchup against a second division team, before heading to Córdoba, who have won four in a row and look extremely strong.

It's lucky that the Linares game was basically a wrap at half-time, with a 4-0 scoreline that allowed Castellón to relax somewhat in the second half. A blistering start saw the home side take advantage of the fact that Linares struggled to implement their new tactical setup, with their high pressing and poor spacing leaving plenty of room behind for Castellón to exploit. The Andalusian side had changed their manager the week before, and while the ideas were good, the execution left a lot to be desired.

Haris Medunjanin once again stood out as the player of the game, scoring two and creating one in another masterclass. Manu Sánchez combined perfectly with the Bosnian twice, taking advantage of the space in the Linares defense to cross from the right and find Haris at the back post on both occasions. Jesús De Miguel was the recipient of the assist from the 39-year-old magician and was able to score his eleventh of the season, confirming his status as the top scorer in the Primera RFEF. A nicely delivered free-kick found the boot of Alberto Jiménez for Castellón's fourth.

There was some sloppiness from Castellón in the second half, and Linares's play also improved, allowing them to get one back, but it was a statement win regardless to maintain their 100% record at Castalia.

The attention now turns to Real Oviedo, who are missing nine players through injury, including Santi Cazorla, who rejoined his boyhood club in the summer. Fans at Castalia will, therefore, not get the chance to see the former Arsenal player and Spanish international in action, but striker Borja Bastón (formerly of Aston Villa and Swansea) should be available, as well as Argentine Santiago Colombatto.

It remains to be seen what decisions Dick Schreuder will take in terms of squad rotation, especially with a view to the important league clash against third-placed Córdoba at the weekend. Many changes were made for the last cup game against Cacereño, but now that the Albinegros are facing a higher level of competition, the Dutchman might go about things differently.

If Castellón can come away with three wins from three in seven days, it would be an absolutely phenomenal achievement given the level of competition and, of course, set up a potentially mouth-watering tie against La Liga opposition in the next round of the Copa del Rey.