Burgos head into this one off the back of a goalless draw with Cultural Leonesa in a recent friendly — a clean sheet, yes, but also a reminder that goals have not exactly been flowing at El Plantío. That 0-0 tells you everything about their pre-season: solid, organised, hard to break down, but lacking that killer edge in the final third. Still, there is something to be said for a team that starts a campaign with their defensive house in order. At home, in front of their own fans in that compact 12,646-capacity stadium, Burgos are a different animal — they make it awkward, they suffocate space, and they rarely get blown away.

Córdoba, on the other hand, arrive with a worrying scar from their most recent friendly — a 0-4 hammering at the hands of Almería. That result will sting. It will have raised questions about their defensive solidity and their mental resilience heading into the new season. Yes, it is only a friendly, but heavy defeats in pre-season can linger. They will be desperate to prove it was a blip, but the confidence will be fragile. On the road, in a hostile El Plantío, that is a dangerous cocktail.

Neither side has set the world alight in pre-season, but the momentum and the psychological edge sit firmly with the hosts. Burgos are unbeaten in their recent outings, while Córdoba are licking wounds. In a league as tight as LaLiga 2, where margins are razor-thin, that difference in recent feeling can be decisive.