Both Cadiz and Espanyol will be looking to return to winning ways in La Liga when they lock horns at Nuevo Mirandilla on Tuesday night.
Cadiz are currently 19th in Spain's top flight, having picked up just 14 points from their opening 20 matches of the season, while Espanyol occupy 11th, boasting 26 points from their first 20 games of 2021-22.
Match preview
© Reuters
Cadiz were excellent on their return to the top flight last season, claiming 12th position, but they have found it more difficult during the current season, with just 14 points from 20 matches leaving them in 19th spot.
The Yellow Submarine are only four points from the safety of 17th position but have won just twice in the league all season and have lost their last two against Sevilla and Osasuna without finding the back of the net.
Cadiz will enter Tuesday's match off the back of a win, though, having beaten Sporting Gijon on penalties in the Copa del Rey to advance to the quarter-finals of the competition.
While a run in the cup is a huge positive, head coach Sergio Gonzalez will know the importance of securing another season of La Liga football, with the team bidding to make it back-to-back top-flight campaigns for the first time since 1993.
Cadiz suffered a 2-0 defeat to Espanyol in the reverse match between the two sides earlier this season, with the Yellow Submarine's last success over the Catalan side coming in a Copa del Rey clash back in 2018.
© Reuters
Espanyol, meanwhile, suffered a 2-1 defeat to Elche in their last league match on January 10 before losing by the same scoreline to Mallorca in the Copa del Rey on Saturday.
Vicente Moreno's side have won seven, drawn five and lost eight of their 20 league games this term to collect 26 points, which has left them in 11th position in the table.
The reigning Segunda Division champions are well placed to avoid a relegation battle this season and should be looking up the table rather than down, as they are only three points behind eighth-placed Villarreal.
Espanyol have found it difficult to pick up positive results on their travels this season, though, winning just one of their 10 away La Liga matches, collecting only six points in the process.
Moreno's team now only have the league to focus on following their cup exit, which should stand them in good stead for the remainder of the campaign.
- L
- L
- D
- D
- L
- L
- W
- D
- L
- W
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
- L
- W
- L
- W
- L
- W
- W
- L
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Cadiz will again be missing Jose Mari, Anthony Lozano and Jon Ander Garrido for this match through injury, while there will be changes from the side that started in the Copa del Rey on Saturday.
Jeremias Ledesma, Alex, Juan Cala, Ivan Chapela, Fali Jimenez and Alvaro Negredo could all be back in the side following the penalty-shootout success over Sporting Gijon.
Ruben Sobrino should retain his spot in the final third of the field, though, with Florin Andone likely to be the player to drop out to allow Negredo to come into a front two for the hosts.
As for Espanyol, David Lopez remains unavailable for selection due to a knee injury, while Adria Pedrosa is suspended, but the Catalan side are otherwise in good shape.
The visitors will also make a number of changes to their side following their Copa del Rey contest last time out, with Loren Moron, Adri Embarba and Nico Melamed among those in line to return.
Raul de Tomas and Sergi Darder are certain starters for the Catalan side, while Pedrosa's absence through suspension will open the door for Didac Vila to feature at left-back.
Cadiz possible starting lineup:
Ledesma; Jimenez, Cala, Chust, Espino; Chapela, Jonsson, Alex, Salvi; Sobrino, Negredo
Espanyol possible starting lineup:
D Lopez; Vidal, Gomez, Cabrera, Vila; Bare, Darder, Melamed; Embarba, Moron, De Tomas
We say: Cadiz 1-1 Espanyol
Both sides will view this match as the ideal opportunity to return to winning ways, but we are finding it difficult to back either to triumph on Tuesday. Espanyol's away form this season has been disappointing, while Cadiz have the worst home record in the league, so we have had to settle on a low-scoring draw.
Top tip
Matt Law
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 Espanyol win with a probability of 51.67%. A draw had a probability of 25.9% and a win for Cadiz had a probability of 22.46%.
The most likely scoreline for a Espanyol win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.4%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.2%) and 1-2 (9.26%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.16%), while for a Cadiz win it was 1-0 (7.99%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 4.2% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a draw in this match.
