Spotlight on Segunda: Play-off names to know
One player on each Segunda team involved in the playoffs. They might not be their team's star, but they will help decide their respective ties.
Racing Santander - Juan Carlos Arana, 26, Striker
The obvious choice here is Andrés Martín, but it was almost too obvious (and we're also planning a longer article on him).
Juan Carlos Arana is our pick. His numbers might not be as significant, but he is the one who Martín looks for most often and creates the spaces for Martín to drive into. He is a pure poacher who doesn't get too involved in build-up play (Racing aren’t short of creation), though he is lethal in the penalty area.
His team are always — and we mean always — looking to punch the ball towards goal, having led the league in forward passes this term. Plus they have the best creator and/or player in Segunda to play the kind of passes Arana can get on the end of. We saw a good example just last weekend, when Andrés found his teammate with a seemingly impossible through ball to make it 1-1 against Granada.
Arana has received 16 through balls this season, with only Roger Brugué and Luis Suárez connecting with more. Meanwhile, Iñígo Vicente to Andrés Martin (33) is the only teammate connection to see more chances created from open play in Segunda this term than Martín to Arana (20).
As we touched on before, the 25-year-old isn't overly involved in general build-up play. In fact, among all attackers with at least 500 minutes played this season, he has the third-fewest touches per 90 (24.3), only behind Myrto Uzuni and Christian Kofane. Likewise, His direct shot involvement (sequences where his only involvement in the play was a shot) is the highest in the league among centre forwards with 20+ appearances (16.5%).
Arana has put together an incredible season given he has to share the attacking load with Andrés Martín; not an easy task as far as protagonism goes. But Arana is the poacher who occupies defenders and lets Martin work his magic, before profiting from the other side of the bargain. Of his 86 total shots, 70 of them have been inside the box - a meaty 81.4%. All 13 of his goals have been inside the box too.
Mirandés play with five at the back and sit in a 5-3-2 once that frst line is breached, along with a heavy focus on winning duels and man-to-man defending. They won't give Arana much space to operate in but if he can find a yard, he could decide the tie.
Real Oviedo - Kwasi Sibo, 26, Defensive Midfielder
Veljko Paunović has turned Oviedo into the best defensive team in Spain's second division. It's not necessarily pretty but under the Serbian, they’re only conceding 0.75 xG per game — a league-low figure in that period.
(Side note: keep an eye on another new coach, Beñat San José, whose Eibar side (0.91) are just behind Oviedo across his 15-game spell).
Against Cádiz last Sunday in a game that could have seen Oviedo promoted had other results done their way, he started César de la Hoz and Santi Cazorla —33 and 40 years of age respectively — with Kwasi Sibo suspended. Other than that, the Ghanaian has been one of Paunović's most trusted players since he took over, with only defenders Dani Calvo and Nacho Vidal appearing more among outfielders. Sibo has started every game, except for last weekend when he was suspended.
The 26-year-old is the key to appreciating the balance Paunović is looking for, and managing to find. With him on the field they conceded just 0.7 goals per 90, but that almost doubles to 1.3 when he's not on the field, which is mostly situational. He'll often bring Sibo off for Cazorla or a more attack-minded player if they need a goal.
Oviedo are playing the team with the worst defensive record in the play-offs, so Paunović will be hoping he doesn't have to press the big red emergency lever to make something happen. Sibo's presence early on in games will be key to making sure Oviedo stay in the contest, in what will be an emotionally charged tie.
Almería - Dion Lopy, 23, Defensive Midfielder
Under Rubi, Almería have rarely struggled offensively. They have scored 72 goals this season, more than any other team in the competition. The problem is that Luis Suárez has been called up by Colombia and takes with him a massive part of the team's game plan and attacking force. He has scored 27 goals this term — by far the most in the league this season — with Joaquín Panichelli the only other player to reach 20.
Without him, they're going to have to keep things a lot tighter at the back, something that Rubi hasn't always been good at getting his teams to do. Their xG for (68.4) is the second best in the league but their xG against is much more average - 8th in the league to be precise. Clean sheets aren’t exactly their foundation.
In that sense, keeping Oviedo at bay over two legs might end up demanding a lot of Dion Lopy, who ranks seventh in Segunda this season for tackles and interceptions by midfielders (120). He does an excellent job of breaking up play, combining positional sense with a real knack for recovering the ball. For Almería, he’s a true defensive all-rounder, which he supplements with economical and tidy work on the ball.
Quite frankly, it's a wonder that Lopy stayed with Almería when they were relegated last season from the top-flight — they were pretty fortunate to be able to retain him and consolidate him as a key figure this term. At the same time, bigger clubs are still being associated with his name, following on from Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund previously having kept tabs on the Senegalese midfielder.
Mirandés - Hugo Rincón, 22, Right-Back
Athletic Club's succession plan at right-back is right on track. Óscar de Marcos is retiring, Iñigo Lekue is 32 and Andoni Gorosabl is the only other player in the squad who plays in the position. Hugo Rincón is set to return this summer and has put together the kind of campaign at Mirandés that Athletic will, regardless of what occurs in the play-offs, already be delighted with.
Rincon ranks third for 10+ metre progressive carries by full backs/wing backs in Segunda this season (119), only behind Gerard Valentin and Marc Pubill. He offers width and boundless energy from the right, where Mirandés rely on him to cover the flank essentially on his own. Throughout the season, he’s grown massively in developing his attacking game and contributing at the other end.
As we can see from this recent strike against Córdoba, attacks that develop down the left hand side are prime opportunities for Rincón to arrive in the box as an extra man — not a sight that opposition left backs want to see.
As for his team, Mirandés play in a 5-3-2 and they're aggressive out of possession, which is typical of a team so young — led by an equally youthful manager. We've written previously about Jon Gorrotxategi and Joaquín Panichelli this season, along with the manager himself, Alessio Lisci.
Truth be told, there are a lot of players to keep an eye on in this miraculous season they have put together (we see you Mathis Lachuer and Pablo Tomeo), but Rincón stands out as a player with plenty of attributes fit for the top level. According to recent reports, a number of LaLiga clubs are already circling in the case Athletic end up agreeing to another loan spell.