Cadiz will be looking to end a run of three straight defeats when they continue their 2020-21 La Liga campaign at home to Real Valladolid on Tuesday night.
The newly-promoted outfit have not triumphed in the league since overcoming Barcelona on December 5, but a positive start to the season has left them in 11th spot in the table, while Valladolid are currently inside the relegation zone.
Match preview
© Reuters
In their first season at this level since 2005-06, Cadiz can be delighted with their points tally thus far; a record of five wins, three draws and seven defeats has brought them 18 points, which is enough for 11th position.
The promoted club, who have already beaten Real Madrid and Bara this season, were flying high towards the end of October, but they have only won one of their last seven, suffering five defeats in the process.
Alvaro Cervera's side will actually enter Tuesday's contest off the back of three straight losses, with Celta Vigo, Getafe and Real Betis all beating them since a 2-1 victory over Barca on December 5.
El Submarino Amarillo will view this match as the perfect chance to return to winning ways, but the team's home form this season has been disappointing, picking up just five points from their seven matches, which is in contrast to their away form, where they have secured an impressive 13 points.
© Reuters
Valladolid, meanwhile, will enter Tuesday's contest off the back of a 3-0 home defeat to Barca, with the result leaving the strugglers in 18th position, having picked up just 14 points from 15 matches.
Sergio Gonzalez's side have actually won three times in the league since November 8, though, and picked up an impressive point at Sevilla in their last away match on December 19.
The White and Violets have the third-worst away record in La Liga, collecting just five points from seven matches, but they do have goalscorers in the shape of Sergi Guardiola, Maranhao and Shon Weissman.
The fact that Valladolid finished 13th last season but are now in the relegation zone means that it has been an underwhelming start to the campaign; that said, they are only four points behind their opponents on Tuesday and would almost certainly move up a few places with a victory in this game.
Cadiz La Liga form: LDWLLL
Cadiz form (all competitions): DWLWLL
Real Valladolid La Liga form: WDLWDL
Real Valladolid form (all competitions): DLWWDL
Team News
© Reuters
Cadiz will again be without the services of Luismi Quezada, Bobby Adekanye and Jose Mari through injury, but Augusto Fernandez could be in contention to return to the squad.
Head coach Alvaro is expected to keep faith with the majority of the side that started the defeat to Betis last time out, with Salvi Sanchez and Alberto Perea likely to again feature in the wide areas.
There could be a change in the final third of the field, though, with Anthony Lozano potentially replacing Filip Malbasic to start alongside Alvaro Negredo as part of a front two.
As for Valladolid, Saidy Janko and Kiko Olivas remain on the sidelines through injury, but the visitors are otherwise in good shape when it comes to absentees.
Guardiola could again start on the bench with Weissman expected to be paired with Maranhao in the final third, while Oscar Plano and Fabian Orellana should start in the wide positions.
Jota could drop out to allow Orellana to return to the XI, while there is also a chance that Sergio could make a change in central midfield with Roque Mesa potentially replacing Michel.
Cadiz possible starting lineup:
Ledesma; Carcelen, Cala, Lopez, Espino; Salvi, Fali, Jonsson, Perea; Negredo, Lozano
Real Valladolid possible starting lineup:
Masip; Hervias, Joaquin, Bruno, Nacho; Orellana, Alcaraz, Mesa, Plano; Weissman, Maranhao
We say: Cadiz 1-1 Real Valladolid
Both teams will be determined to bounce back from defeats last time out, but we are finding it difficult to separate them taking everything into consideration. Cadiz have been disappointing at home while Valladolid have been poor away, and we are tipping a low-scoring draw in this encounter.
Top betting 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 Real Valladolid win with a probability of 40.15%. A win for Cadiz had a probability of 30.82% and a draw had a probability of 29%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Valladolid win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.27%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (7.92%) and 0-2 (7.89%). The likeliest Cadiz win was 1-0 (11.2%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.32%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with an 11.2% likelihood.