Celta Vigo will be looking to continue their impressive run of form in La Liga when they make the trip to Nuevo Mirandilla on Saturday afternoon to take on Cadiz.
The visitors will enter the match off the back of a 2-0 win over Rayo Vallecano on February 5, while Cadiz suffered a 2-1 defeat to Mallorca last time out to remain in the relegation zone.
Match preview
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Cadiz are firmly locked in a relegation fight this season, boasting just 18 points from their opening 23 matches of the 2021-22 La Liga campaign, which has left them in 18th spot in the table, five points behind 17th-placed Mallorca, who have a game in hand in the side directly below them.
Mallorca crucially beat Cadiz 2-1 in the league last time out, but the Yellow Submarine have still managed to collect four points from their last three matches, drawing with Espanyol before beating Levante ahead of the reverse to Mallorca on Saturday.
Los Piratas finished 12th in La Liga last season, impressing many with their performances, but it has been a struggle this term, and they are facing a huge battle to make it three straight campaigns at this level of football.
Cadiz, now under the management of Sergio Gonzalez, have the worst home record in La Liga this term, collecting just six points from 11 matches, failing to record a single victory in the process.
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Celta suffered a 2-1 defeat to Cadiz when the two sides locked horns for the reverse match earlier this season, but the points were shared in a goalless draw when they met at Nuevo Mirandilla last term.
The Sky Blues have picked up seven points from their last three league games, drawing with Sevilla, in addition to beating Osasuna and Rayo Vallecano, which has allowed them to move into 10th spot in the table.
Eduardo Coudet's side are 12 points clear of the relegation zone and just five points behind sixth-placed Villarreal, so another victory this weekend would move them closer to the European positions.
Celta's away form this season has been impressive, picking up 16 points from 11 matches, suffering just three defeats in the process, while they have only conceded 10 La Liga goals on their travels this term.
The Sky Blues are outsiders when it comes to a possible top-six finish, but the team's talent, especially in the forward areas, could put them in contention, particularly if they can have a strong end to the month, facing Cadiz, Levante and Atletico Madrid in their final three games of February.
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Team News
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Cadiz will be missing Fali Jimenez this weekend through injury, but the home side are otherwise in strong shape, with Anthony Lozano available once again following a suspension.
Head coach Sergio is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack for this match, with Alvaro Negredo and Lucas Perez set to continue as the front two in a 4-4-2 formation.
Ruben Alcaraz was on the scoresheet against Mallorca and should again feature in the middle of the park, although the likes of Lozano, Ruben Sobrino and Jens Jonsson are also pushing for starting roles.
As for Celta, head coach Coudet, as it stands, has a full squad available for this match, so it would not be a surprise to see the same XI that took to the field against Rayo last time out.
Renato Tapia and Nolito are the two players pushing to break into the starting side, but Brais Mendez netted a brace against Rayo, so the Spaniard will retain his spot in midfield.
Iago Aspas and Santi Mina have netted 18 La Liga goals between them this season, meanwhile, and the pair will once again feature in the final third of the field this weekend.
Cadiz possible starting lineup:
Ledesma; Iza, Chust, Haroyan, Espino; Alejo, Fernandez, Alcaraz, Sanchez; Negredo, Perez
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Dituro; Mallo, Aidoo, Araujo, Galan; Beltran; Mendez, Suarez, Cervi; Aspas, Mina
We say: Cadiz 1-2 Celta Vigo
Celta's away form this season has been impressive, while Cadiz have struggled at home, so we are finding it difficult to predict anything other than an away victory here. It should be a tight match on Saturday afternoon, but we are expecting the visitors to navigate their way to an important three points.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Celta Vigo win with a probability of 52.15%. A draw had a probability of 26.1% and a win for Cadiz had a probability of 21.78%.
The most likely scoreline for a Celta Vigo win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.95%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.51%) and 1-2 (9.17%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.17%), while for a Cadiz win it was 1-0 (8.08%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 9.3% likelihood.
