CD Tenerife welcome Real Sporting de Gijón to the Heliodoro Rodríguez López this Friday at 8pm for matchday three of LaLiga HyperMotion.
It is a fixture with plenty of history behind it. In fact, Sporting are one of the teams Tenerife have faced most often in official competition, with the two sides meeting 66 times.
Since 1990, Sporting have made 30 league visits to the Heliodoro, and the home side has generally had the better of the encounters.
Tenerife’s strong record at home
Of those 30 league matches in Tenerife, CD Tenerife have won 12, while 11 ended in draws. Sporting have managed seven victories.
The record in Copa del Rey matches at the Heliodoro also favours Tenerife, with two wins and one draw.
The first meeting between the clubs took place on 17 September 1966 during the 1966-67 season. Tenerife drew 1-1, with Erasto getting on the scoresheet for the home side.
Tenerife’s first league victory over Sporting came much later, on 23 February 1994, when they secured an impressive 3-0 win in the Primera División.
There have been a few memorable results since then, including a rather emphatic 6-0 victory during the 1996-97 season. Not a bad afternoon at the office.
A familiar fixture with familiar faces
The last five meetings between the two sides have been fairly even, with one win each and three draws.
Tenerife’s most recent victory came during the unusual 2020-21 season. Since then, they have drawn twice and lost once against the Asturian side.
Friday’s match will also see a few familiar faces coming up against former clubs.
Tenerife’s Dani Martín and Sporting’s Jorge Sáenz are among those with connections to both sides, while players such as Alex Corredera and several club figures have also spent time at the other club.
Over the years, plenty of memorable names have scored in this fixture, including Juan Antonio Pizzi and Ezequiel Castillo.
So while there are only three points up for grabs, this is one of those games with a little more history behind it.
CD Tenerife will be hoping that history works in their favour again on Friday night.