Sevilla will be looking to stay in touch with La Liga leaders Real Madrid when they continue their 2021-22 campaign away to Cadiz on Monday night.
Julen Lopetegui's side are currently second in the table, eight points behind Real Madrid with a game in hand, while Cadiz occupy 19th position, one point behind 17th-placed Elche.
Match preview
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Cadiz excelled in La Liga last season, finishing 12th in the division, but they have found it difficult to show consistency during the 2021-22 campaign, picking up just 14 points from their 18 matches, which has left them in 19th position in the table, one point from the safety of 17th position.
The Yellow Submarine have won just two of their 18 league games this term, but they recorded two victories in the Copa del Rey last month, overcoming Villa de Fortuna and Albacete to advance in the competition.
Cadiz held Real Madrid to a goalless draw at Bernabeu before the winter break, but they have not been victorious in the league since the start of November and are now set to face another hugely difficult test against title-challenging Sevilla on Monday night.
Alvaro Cervera's side found it difficult in their two matches against Sevilla last season, losing 3-0 at Estadio Ramon and suffering a 3-1 home defeat to Los Nervionenses.
Cadiz also have the worst home record in La Liga this season, picking up just five points from their nine matches, failing to win in the process, which is a concern ahead of this contest.
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Sevilla, meanwhile, have been Real Madrid's closest challengers in La Liga this season, picking up 38 points from their 18 matches to sit second in the table, eight points behind leaders Real Madrid.
Los Blancos will have the chance to move 11 points clear on Sunday afternoon when they travel to Getafe, but Lopetegui's side will then have two games in hand on the capital giants.
Sevilla have won 11, drawn five and lost two of their 18 league games, conceding just 13 times in the process, which is comfortably the best defensive record in the division, and they are on course to finish above both Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, but there is still a lot of football to be played.
Los Nervionenses have picked up 10 points from their last four league games, beating Villarreal, Athletic Bilbao and Atletico before sharing the points with Barcelona before the winter break.
Real Madrid's recent form has been staggering, but Sevilla will stay in touch if they continue to pick up wins, while Lopetegui's side have also progressed in the Copa del Rey, securing a third-round tie against Real Zaragoza on January 6.
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Team News
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Cadiz will be without the services of Jose Mari and Jon Ander Garrido through injury, while Juan Cala will miss Monday's contest through suspension.
The home side also have a number of COVID-19 issues in their camp, with Anthony Lozano, Santiago Arzamendia, Iza, Ruben Sobrino, Victor Chust, Ivan Alejo, Salvi Sanchez and Alberto Perea all unavailable.
Ruben Negredo is expected to lead the line for the home side, while Ivan Chapela and Alvaro Bastida, who both came off the bench against Real Madrid, are likely to start in the final third of the field.
As for Sevilla, Erik Lamela and Suso will miss the match through injury, while Jesus Navas, Marcos Acuna and Oliver Torres are still doubts for the visitors.
Diego Carlos, Gonzalo Montiel, Youssef En-Nesyri and Karim Rekik are also out following positive COVID-19 tests, while Jules Kounde is unavailable for selection through suspension.
Fernando could be joined by Nemanja Gudelj in the middle of the Sevilla defence, while Ludwig Augustinsson and Navas are in line to come into the side in the full-back positions.
The same front three that started against Barcelona - Alejandro Gomez, Rafa Mir and Lucas Ocampos - should continue in the side, while Ivan Rakitic is also expected to feature in the middle of the park.
Cadiz possible starting lineup:
Ledesma; Akapo, Fali, Haroyan, Espino; Fernandez, Jonsson, Alarcon; Chapela, Negredo, Bastida
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Bounou; Navas, Gudelj, Fernando, Augustinsson; Rakitic, Delaney, Jordan; Gomez, Mir, Ocampos
We say: Cadiz 0-1 Sevilla
Both teams will be missing a number of key players through injury, and this has the potential to be a very tricky fixture for Sevilla, but Cadiz's home form has been so disappointing this season. We are expecting it to be a tight match but are backing the visitors to secure a hugely 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 Sevilla win with a probability of 64.75%. A draw had a probability of 21% and a win for Cadiz had a probability of 14.22%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sevilla win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.84%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (12.44%) and 1-2 (9.66%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.97%), while for a Cadiz win it was 1-0 (5.14%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 12.8% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted a 0-1 win for Sevilla in this match.
