The Yellows face a crucial duel this Friday to mark the beginning of a resurgence that will allow them to ensure their permanence as soon as possible or the confirmation of a crisis that could return them to the relegation places.
Laying the first stone of the year to cling to permanence or fall into the deepest depths. After a black start to the year, UD Las Palmas are no longer satisfied with half measures. Diego Martínez's team arrives this Friday at the home of the bottom club, Real Valladolid, to try to taste victory for the first time in 2025.
The Yellows' poor run of form following the rise of Martínez's arrival; with 4 wins in 6 league games, including a historic away win against FC Barcelona, has brought forward the first final of the season. A match that will confirm whether UD Las Palmas' poor start to the year is circumstantial or whether the "Martínez effect" has finally faded and it is time to find solutions to avoid the feared relegation.
The rumor that the coach who came as a solution to UD Las Palmas' dramatic start under Luis Carrión is to be sacked has already begun to spread among the fans and the media in the capital, who believe that a draw or a defeat in this match could mean the farewell of Diego Martínez. However, in the lead-up, Martínez himself seems to ignore the rumors and assured that "this Friday nothing ends, everything continues."
The Yellows face this first final of the season today, Friday, at 20:00 against Real Valladolid, bottom of the division and coming off a 7-1 defeat at San Mamés. In addition, the Valladolid team will once again play at their stadium in the midst of a tense atmosphere, after the club's supporters requested a refund of the away tickets purchased by the Blanquivioleta fans from the team's players after the thrashing at San Mamés, which they considered a "humiliation".
Furthermore, this will be Alvaro Rubio's second game as coach of Real Valladolid, after making his debut in the thrashing suffered at San Mamés as a substitute for Argentine Diego Cocca, who was dismissed after eight games after failing to turn the Valladolid team around.
Real Valladolid are bottom of the league with 15 points and only 4 wins, the most recent of which was on January 11 at home to Real Betis. UD Las Palmas, meanwhile, come into the match with 23 points, tied with Valencia (who face Osasuna on Sunday at El Sadar) and just one point behind Deportivo Alavés, second from bottom and who will also visit Son Moix on Sunday to face Mallorca.
Diego Martínez's men have an advantage for this match, as everything indicates that the coach will be able to count on striker Fabio Silva after several games out due to injury. However, the coach's statements beforehand have not been entirely encouraging, as he stressed that the cold in Valladolid could take its toll on the yellows.
