Newly-promoted Almeria welcome capital club Rayo Vallecano to the Power Horse Stadium on Saturday, to open the day's LaLiga action.
The hosts are in miserable form of late, losing their fourth game without scoring in a row to Athletic Bilbao last Friday, while the visitors secured their third win of the season with a dramatic, 96th-minute winner against Elche.
Match preview
© Reuters
There was a general feeling of optimism around the Almeria camp ahead of their first season back in LaLiga for seven years.
An opening-day battle with Real Madrid, along with a famous victory over Sevilla two weeks later, were encouraging signs that Rubi's men would be able to compete in the Spanish top flight once again.
However, largely coinciding with the departure of star striker Umar Sadiq, the Andalusian side's form has since nosedived, falling to four consecutive defeats without scoring a single goal.
In fact, since the Nigerian striker's move to Real Sociedad, Almeria's expected goals per game has plummeted from an average of 1.30, down to just 0.35, highlighting just how much the side have lost in terms of attacking threat.
Offering very little going forward once again, as they fell to a 4-0 thumping at the hands of red-hot Athletic Club last weekend, Los Rojiblancos will be hoping to rediscover some attacking form as they return home after two consecutive away defeats.
© Reuters
Despite patchy form of their own, visitors Rayo Vallecano are one of the feel-good sides of the division, playing expansive, exciting football under the guidance of promising young coach Andoni Iraola.
Having held Barcelona to a 0-0 draw at Camp Nou on the opening weekend, securing their third consecutive clean sheet against Xavi's side, Los Franjirrojos executed a perfect smash-and-grab away to Espanyol, extending their unbeaten record against Catalan sides to six games.
Defeats to Mallorca and Osasuna followed, with successive home victories against Valencia and Elche taking their tally up to 10 points after seven games, a respectable return for a club operating on one of the tightest budgets in the division.
On-loan Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Camello grabbed his first Rayo goal in that dramatic win over Elche, while the terrific trio of Isi Palazon, Oscar Trejo and Alvaro Garcia were dangerous throughout once again.
After their tremendous start to last season, winning eight consecutive home games to start the campaign, Iraola's men were only dragged into a late relegation scrap due to a run of 13 games without a win.
Points in games like this will be key to a more comfortable stroll to safety this time around.
Team News
© Reuters
Summer signing Gonzalo Melero has only managed 28 minutes for Almeria since his move from Levante, but could be in contention here, given his return to training during the week.
Similarly, full-back Alejandro Pozo missed that defeat to Athletic Bilbao, but has also returned to training and is now working with the squad. The 23-year-old might not be rushed back into the starting lineup, though, given the cover provided by Houboulang Mendes at right-back.
Furthermore, defenders Chumi and Alex Centelles, along with forward Marko Milovanovic, should miss out once again.
For the visitors, record signing Raul de Tomas is not allowed to play until January, given the timing of his signing outside of the transfer window.
Salvi Sanchez will be unavailable once more, with a calf injury.
Almeria possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Akieme, Babic, Ely, Kaiky, Mendes; Costa, Robertone, Eguaras; Embarba, Ramazani
Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:
Dimitrievski; Garcia, Catena, Lejeune, Balliu; Valentin, Comesana; Garcia, Trejo, Palazon; Camello
We say: Almeria 1-1 Rayo Vallecano
While it is tempting to side with Rayo in this one, given the attractive brand of football that they play, Iraola's men have been known to show some inconsistencies along the way.
Almeria are desperate for points after their torrid run of four games without a goal, so we expect them to be competitive, and ultimately grind out a point.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
