Back in La Liga for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign, Cadiz will kick off their top-flight season with a home match against Osasuna on Saturday night.
Cadiz secured promotion back to this level courtesy finishing second in the Segunda Division last term, while Osasuna enjoyed an impressive 2019-20 campaign, claiming 10th spot in the table.
Match preview
Cadiz were regulars in Spain's top flight between 1981 and 1993 but have largely been a second-tier or third-tier side since, only playing one season of La Liga football since the end of the 1992-93 campaign.
El Submarino Amarillo secured a return to this level courtesy of finishing second in the Segunda Division last term, collecting 69 points from their 42 matches to claim the spot behind champions Huesca.
Alvaro Cervera's side have been extremely busy during this summer's transfer window, with Alvaro Gimenez, Choco Lozano, Ivan Alejo and Jorge Pombo amongst those to arrive.
Veteran striker Alvaro Negredo has also joined the club on a free transfer, and it will be fascinating to see how the 34-year-old performs as he prepares to play another campaign of La Liga football.
© Reuters
Osasuna, meanwhile, were excellent in Spain's top flight last term, securing 10th position in the table on their return to this level after two seasons in the Segunda Division.
Jagoba Arrasate's side were actually only four points off finishing in a Europa League position, and it will be fascinating to see whether they can repeat their success in the coming season.
Dating back to June 24, Osasuna have won five of their last eight La Liga matches, suffering just one defeat, while they have won two of their four friendly matches this summer.
There has been some movement at the club in terms of the transfer market with Juan Cruz, Enric Gallego, Lucas Torro and Raul Navas all arriving.
The likes of Luis Perea, Fran Merida and Antonio Otegui have moved on, meanwhile, meaning that there will be somewhat of a fresh look to the team during the 2020-21 campaign.
Cadiz pre-season form: LWW
Osasuna pre-season form: WWDL
Team News
© Reuters
Cadiz will be without the services of Alberto Perea through suspension this weekend, while Luismi Quezada and Jon Ander are injury doubts for the home side.
Former Manchester City forward Negredo is expected to lead the line for the newly-promoted outfit, while 41-year-old Alberto Cifuentes should make his La Liga debut between the sticks.
Isaac Carcelen is expected to be given the nod at right-back, with Salvi Sanchez likely to take up the position ahead of him on the same side of the field.
As for Osasuna, a serious knee injury for Chimy Avila could rule the striker out for the majority of the season, while Darko Brasanac is also expected to miss out through injury.
Gallego should shake off a knock to make his debut alongside Adrian Lopez in attack, though, with Torro also potentially earning a starting role in the middle of the park.
Pervis Estupinan's return to Watford has opened up a spot at left-back, meanwhile, and Inigo Perez is the favourite to be selected in that area of the field.
Cadiz possible starting lineup:
Cifuentes; Akapo, Lopez, Cala, Espino; Fernandez, Mari, Bodiger; Salvi, Negredo, Malbasic
Osasuna possible starting lineup:
Herrera; Vidal, U Garcia, Hernandez, Perez; Torres, Torro, Oier, D Garcia; Adrian, Gallego
We say: Cadiz 1-2 Osasuna
Cadiz have been handed a tough start as Osasuna proved their class during the 2019-20 campaign. The hosts will be determined to start their campaign with a strong result, but we fancy Osasuna to claim all three points on Saturday night courtesy of a narrow success.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home/Away:dataData 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 Cadiz win with a probability of 38.93%. A win for Osasuna had a probability of 33.02% and a draw had a probability of 28%.
The most likely scoreline for a Cadiz win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.87%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.08%) and 2-0 (7.3%). The likeliest Osasuna win was 0-1 (10.71%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.15%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 5.9% likelihood.
