Cadiz will be aiming to record their second La Liga victory of the season when they welcome Almeria to Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla on Saturday night.
The Yellow Submarine have picked up three points from their opening two matches to sit 12th in the table, while Almeria are 19th, having lost their first two games of the 2023-24 campaign.
Match preview
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Cadiz opened their 2023-24 season with a 1-0 victory over Alaves on August 14, but they were unable to build on that one-goal success, suffering a 2-0 defeat to Barcelona in their second match on Sunday.
The Yellow Submarine now have back-to-back home games against Almeria and Villarreal ahead of the international break, and their form in front of their own supporters is an area in need of improvement this term, having had the fourth-worst home record in 2022-23.
Cadiz have managed to boost their squad with seven new signings this summer, although just two of those have arrived on permanent deals, with Gonzalo Escalante and Sergi Guardiola transferring following successful loan spells.
Maxi Gomez, Darwin Machis, Javi Hernandez, Lucas Pires and Jorge Mere have also been signed on loan, and the squad does look well-equipped to deal with the rigours of La Liga football.
Sergio Gonzalez's side finished 14th in La Liga last term, and the club are now in their fourth straight season at this level, which is their best run since the early 1990s.
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Not too much can be read into the league table at this stage of the season, but Almeria are currently 19th, having lost their opening two matches - one of just three La Liga teams to do so alongside Sevilla and Granada.
Almeria only just survived relegation from Spain's top flight last season, finishing 17th in the table, one point clear of 18th-placed Real Valladolid, and it would not be a surprise to see them battling towards the bottom of the division once again this season.
La Union suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Rayo Vallecano on the opening night of the new La Liga season before losing 3-1 to Real Madrid in front of their own supporters on Saturday.
Vicente Moreno's side have managed to sign eight new players this summer, while there have also been a host of exits, so there is certainly a fresh look to the squad this season.
Saturday's clash with Cadiz will be a good indicator of where this Almeria side is at in the early stages of the campaign, as their results in these type of matches are likely to be crucial when it comes to their final position.
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Team News
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Cadiz will once again be missing Mere, Guardiola, Victor Chust and Brian Ocampo through injury, but Escalante is back after serving a suspension against Barcelona last time out.
Head coach Sergio is unlikely to make many changes to the side that started at Camp Nou, but there could be an introduction in the final third for Machis.
Chris Ramos started wide against Barcelona but is now expected to return to the attack alongside Roger, with Alex Fernandez likely to be the player to drop down to the bench.
As for Almeria, Leo Baptistao and Martin Svidersky will miss the contest due to injury problems.
Moreno is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack for this match, with Sergio Arribas again set to operate as the advanced midfielder behind forward Luis Suarez.
Adri Embarba will again operate off the right, while Marc Pubill should retain his position at right-back despite the competition that now exists in that area of the field.
Cadiz possible starting lineup:
Ledesma; Carcelen, L Hernandez, Fali, J Hernandez; Alejo, Alcaraz, Fede, Machis; Roger, Ramos
Almeria possible starting lineup:
Maximiano; Pubill, Chumi, E Gonzalez, Akieme; Robertone, Baba; Embarba, Arribas, Ramazani; Suarez
We say: Cadiz 2-1 Almeria
Both matches between the two sides last season finished 1-1, and we were close to going for that scoreline once again here. Cadiz have shown promising signs in the early stages of the new campaign, though, and we are backing the home side to navigate their way to all three points in this match.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
