Cadiz's search for their first points of the 2022-23 La Liga campaign will continue on Friday evening when they make the trip to Estadio Municipal Jose Zorrilla to face Real Valladolid.
The visitors are currently rock bottom of the table with zero points from five matches, while Real Valladolid are 17th, having collected four points from their opening five games of the season.
Match preview
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Real Valladolid secured a return to Spain's top flight by finishing second in the Segunda Division last term, and they will be looking to consolidate at this level once again.
The White and Violets only picked up one point from their opening three league matches of the season, losing against Villarreal and Barcelona in the process, but they did impressively draw at Sevilla on August 19.
The team's first win of the season came against Almeria on September 5, with Shon Weissman's last-gasp effort for Pacheta's side securing a crucial three points.
Real Valladolid were unable to build on the victory, though, and lost 2-1 at Girona last time out, with a total of four points from five matches leaving them in 17th spot in the table heading into the next set of matches.
Pucelanos have played out draws in their last two La Liga games with Cadiz, including a 1-1 in the corresponding match during the 2020-21 campaign, while they have not beaten the Yellow Submarine since a Segunda Division contest back in June 2017.
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It is not quite panic stations at Cadiz, as there is still so much football to be played this season, but there is no getting away from the fact that it has been a worrying start to the campaign for the club.
El Submarino Amarillo are rock bottom of the table with five defeats from five matches, while they have conceded 14 times and are yet to find the back of the net themselves.
Cadiz lost three times in August, going down 1-0 to Real Sociedad, 2-0 to Osasuna and 4-0 to Athletic Bilbao, while they have been beaten 3-0 by Celta Vigo and 4-0 by Barcelona this month.
The Pirates finished 17th in La Liga last season, and they are playing at this level of football for the third campaign in a row for the first time since the early 1990s, so the club are in a good moment in their history.
Sergio Gonzalez's side are facing the real possibility of being relegated if their form does not improve, though, and these are realistically the type of matches where they need to pick up points.
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Team News
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Real Valladolid are likely to be without both Sergi Guardiola (hip) and Luis Perez (muscle), who had to be substituted in the first half of their clash with Girona last time out.
As a result, Weissman should come in at centre-forward, while 17-year-old Ivan Fresneda could be in line for a start at right-back.
Kike Perez is definitely absent due to the hamstring problem that he picked up in the same contest, which is likely to open the door for Alvaro Aguado to operate in central midfield.
As for Cadiz, Anthony Lozano, Juan Cala and Jon Ander Garrido were all absent against Barcelona last time out, and the trio will again miss out on Friday's match.
There will be alterations from the side that started the four-goal loss to Xavi's team, with Ruben Alcaraz, Tomas Alarcon and Awer Mabil all pushing for starts.
Alvaro Negredo is also an option for change in the final third of the field, but Lucas Perez is likely to retain his spot, with Ruben Sobrino potentially among those to drop to the bench.
Real Valladolid possible starting lineup:
Asenjo; Fresneda, Joaquin, Sanchez, Olaza; Plata, Aguado, Mesa, Monchu, Tuhami; Weissman
Cadiz possible starting lineup:
Ledesma; Zaldua, Hernandez, Mbaye, Espino; Alarcon, Alcaraz; Alejo, Mabil, Ocampo; Perez
We say: Real Valladolid 2-1 Cadiz
Cadiz desperately need to end their losing run, but we are finding it difficult to back them here. The Yellow Submarine should be able to score their first goal of the season on Friday, but we are expecting Real Valladolid to put an important three points on the board in front of their own supporters.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
