Albacete's Nightmare Schedule: Five Brutal Fixtures and Too Many Friday Night Kick-offs
Albacete face a gruelling run of five tough Segunda División games in March, with awkward Friday and Monday kick-offs causing major frustration at the club.
Albacete Balompié are staring down what their own supporters are calling a ‘Tourmalet’ — that brutal Alpine climb from the Tour de France — as they brace for five enormous fixtures in the coming weeks, all while being absolutely done in by the fixture schedulers.
The Mountain Ahead
Alberto González’s side have already been warming up their legs against Deportivo, Sporting, and Málaga, but the real climb starts now. Their next five opponents make for grim reading:
- Almería (home)
- Huesca (away)
- Las Palmas (home)
- Racing de Santander (away)
- Castellón (home)
That’s a run that includes the two sides who would currently go up automatically, plus a Las Palmas outfit that are no mugs in the second tier. March is going to be absolutely pivotal in defining what Albacete’s season actually amounts to.
The Scheduling Headache
Here’s where it gets properly aggravating, and you can understand why the fans are losing their rag. Albacete — along with Las Palmas and Mirandés — lead the unwanted table of teams who’ve played the most matches outside the traditional weekend slot. By matchday 30, they’ll have racked up nine Friday or Monday fixtures, and the next two home games are both falling on those dreaded off-peak slots:
- Friday, 20:30 — Almería at the Carlos Belmonte (matchday 28)
- Monday 16 March, 20:30 — Las Palmas at the Belmonte
Two consecutive home games on a Friday and a Monday. The club already went public with their frustration back on 9 February, and you can bet that statement wasn’t exactly politely worded. Supporters at other clubs are getting two or three of these awkward slots across the same 30 matchdays — Albacete are on nine. Nine. That’s not bad luck, that’s a pattern, and it’s the sort of thing that genuinely hammers attendances and atmosphere.
The Copa Bounce Has Faded
To make matters worse, whatever momentum Albacete built from their Copa del Rey run has largely evaporated amid a string of refereeing controversies. The feel-good factor is gone, and now they need results from a schedule that would test any side in the division.
Gámez Out for Almería
There’s a team news blow to factor in too. Fran Gámez picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in the defeat at La Rosaleda, which means he’s suspended and unavailable for Friday’s opener against Almería — the one side in the whole of Spanish football, Primera and Segunda combined, who’ve won all four of their most recent matches.
Albacete had Monday off to lick their wounds before returning to training on Tuesday to start preparing. It’s a big ask, but the Carlos Belmonte crowd — when they actually turn up for a Friday night game — can make a difference.
What’s at Stake
By the time this five-game block is done, the picture for Albacete’s season should be a lot clearer. Promotion push? Consolidation job? The answers are coming whether they like the kick-off times or not.