Sporting Gijon faces tough early fixtures with Monday and Friday games

Real Sporting de Gijón will begin the 2026-27 season with two fixtures in time slots that frustrate their fans: a Monday opener and a Friday away game. The Asturians, who sit ninth in Segunda División with 61 points and a +6 goal difference (60 scored, 54 conceded), kick off against Sabadell at El Molinón on Monday, August 17 at 19:00 local time.

Why do these fixtures upset the fans?

The league calendar for Sporting starts with a Monday game —rare in Spain— and ends August with an away trip to Tenerife on a Friday. The side, which closed last season on a five-game winning streak (WWWWW), now faces three opening fixtures in slots that make attendance harder, especially during summer dates. Gijón’s city hall pushed for the Monday opener to avoid clashing with the Semana Grande festivities, but the call has sparked backlash among supporters.

The second game lands on Sunday, August 23 at 19:00, when Sporting host Burgos at El Molinón. The third outing takes the team to the Canary Islands on Friday, August 28 at 21:00 to face Tenerife, a kick-off time that forces the squad to open the league slate and complicates logistics for fans.

What does the club say about these fixtures?

Club sources admit the slots aren’t ideal but cite logistical reasons. Sporting, who finished last term with a positive goal difference and sat 21 points behind leaders Racing Santander, now starts the league under these external constraints. Under Nicolás Larcamón, the side must adapt to a schedule that favors logistics over fan comfort —a call that has already drawn criticism on social media.

What’s next for Sporting Gijon?

After these three games, the Asturians continue their Segunda División campaign with a calendar that, fans argue, discourages stadium attendance. Their last result was a 2-1 win at Granada CF on May 30, 2026, capping a five-game winning run. Their next test comes on July 25, 2026, when they travel to face Celta Vigo in a match that will gauge their preseason build-up. With 18 wins, 7 draws and 17 losses in 42 games, Sporting must quickly turn focus to results after a tough start dictated by the fixtures.