Castilla draw Ibiza in Segunda B playoffs.

Real Madrid Castilla will face UD Ibiza in the first round of the Segunda B playoffs on Sunday May 16th.

The draw was made at 12:30pm Spanish time on Monday after the second phase of the campaign wrapped up in dramatic fashion last weekend with Castilla sealing their ticket to the playoffs with a final match victory over Talavera.

Ibiza was one of the tougher draws Castilla could have gotten as a first round matchup. Based on the infamous party island, Ibiza won a group containing the likes of Barcelona B, Villarreal B and a familiar foe in Alocyano. Both clubs managed 36 goals across the regular campaign, however, Ibiza conceded just 10 (Castilla conceded nearly three times the amount at 29) and they will likely rely on this iron tight defense in the upcoming match. With 52 points across the regular season, Ibiza are the fourth best side in the third tier on paper and will advance thanks to this superb record should Castilla fail to beat them due to the new rules in place for this season’s playoffs.

With the first team traveling to Bilbao that same Sunday, it will be interesting to see if Zidane leaves the likes of Sergio Arribas and Antonio Blanco behind or if the current injury crisis will force his hand into depriving the reserves of two stalwarts. Raul has been able to manage persistent absences quite admirably over the last few months, but there can be no doubt that Castilla would have a much better chance with Arribas and their club captain present.

Castilla and Ibiza have played each other on just one other occasion, the latter winning at the Di Stefano stadium 2-1 last season. Just four members of the starting 11 from that game are still at the club.