Barça B v Badajoz, in the second round of the Promotion Play-off

Barça B will face Badajoz in the second round of the Play-off Express for promotion to the Second Division A, which is being played in Andalusia. The match will be played on Thursday, July 23, at the Municipal Stadium of the Nuevo Mirador in Algeciras at 8.00pm CEST. The winner will qualify for the final round on Sunday, July 26. The other qualifiers for this second round, which will also be played on Thursday, are: Castellón - Peña Deportiva, Atlético Baleares - Cornellà and Cultural Leonesa - Sabadell.

Badajoz, coached by former player Pedro Munitis, reached the Play-offs as third in Group 4 and in the first round beat Athletic B on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the end of 120 minutes. It's the second year in a row that Badajoz have been in the Play-offs, and what stands out is the solidity in their game. Preferring a 4-2-3-1 system they are, above all, consistent in defence with only 22 goals conceded (0.90 per game).

In the regular season, they managed 49 points thanks to 14 wins, seven draws and seven losses. They scored 37 goals (1.27 per game) and Basque striker Gorka Santamaría was the team's top scorer with 10. Badajoz are a team that has 51.27% possession of the ball on average, shooting 9.7 times on goal and making 17.33 fouls per game.

They've already shown what they're capable of too, by eliminating Eibar and Las Palmas in the Copa del Rey.

Monchu's statements

"The match against Valladolid was very difficult, we knew they had very good strikers and it made things very hard for us."

"Badajoz is a pretty tough opponent. They just played a great game against Athletic Club ‘B’ but we know what we have to do."

"We know we are all at the level to be here, we have shown it and I am happy with the attitude of the whole team."

"The team is very focused on Thursday's game, we'll take things step by step, and we are all very happy."