Granada will be looking to continue their recent impressive run of form when they travel to Eibar in Spain's top flight on Sunday evening.
The visitors have won four of their last five matches in all competitions and currently occupy seventh position in the table, while Eibar are down in 16th, just one point clear of the relegation zone.
Match preview
© Reuters
Eibar have won three, drawn seven and lost six of their 16 La Liga matches this season to collect 16 points, which has left them in 16th spot in the table, one point clear of the relegation zone.
It would certainly not be a surprise to see Los Armeros in and around the bottom three over the next few months, but they have actually finished ninth, 12th and 14th in their last three campaigns at this level.
Jose Luis Mendilibar's side will be taking on an in-form Granada on Sunday, but the hosts picked up a brilliant point away to Barcelona on Tuesday night, with Kike on the scoresheet at Camp Nou.
Eibar are without a win in their last five league matches but three of those fixtures have ended in draws, while they have incredibly been victorious in each of their last six La Liga games with their opponents here.
© Reuters
Granada, as mentioned, will enter Sunday's contest in strong form, winning four of their last five matches in all competitions and losing just one of their last seven, which was a 2-0 reverse at Real Madrid.
Diego Martinez's side actually lost three straight league matches to Real Sociedad, Real Valladolid and Celta Vigo in November but enjoyed a strong December, collecting 10 points from five fixtures.
The visitors were given a tough examination by Valencia on Tuesday night, but Jorge Molina came up with a winner in the 88th minute to secure an important three points for El Grana.
Granada have won seven, drawn three and lost five of their 15 La Liga matches this season to occupy seventh position, just two points behind fourth-placed Sevilla.
Martinez's team also managed to advance through their Europa League group and will take on Italian giants Napoli in the knockout round of the competition next month.
Eibar La Liga form: WDDLLD
Eibar form (all competitions): DDWLLD
Granada La Liga form: LDWWLW
Granada form (all competitions): DWWWLW
Team News
© Reuters
Eibar will again be without the services of Kevin Rodrigues, Anaitz Arbilla and Rober Correa through injury, while Bryan Gil and Coke remain doubts for the home side.
Esteban Burgos had to be replaced against Barca on Tuesday and has also emerged as a doubt, meaning that there could be a start at the back for Paulo Oliveira.
On-loan Newcastle United attacker Yoshinori Muto is also in contention for a spot in side, but Kike is expected to lead the attack once again.
As for Granada, a lengthy absentee list includes Luis Milla, Darwin Machis, Fede Vico, Victor Diaz, Angel Montoro and Neyder Lozano.
The visitors will also be without the services of Domingos Duarte and Dimitri Foulquier through suspension, meaning that there will have to a reshuffle at the back, with Quini and Jesus Vallejo likely to come in.
Kenedy was on the scoresheet against Valencia and should retain his spot in a wide area, while Roberto Soldado is again expected to get the nod over Molina through the middle.
Eibar possible starting lineup:
Dmitrovic; Pozo, Oliveira, Bigas, Rafa; Edu, Alvarez; Kadzior, Diop, Inui; Kike
Granada possible starting lineup:
Silva; Quini, Vallejo, Sanchez, Neva; Gonalons, Herrera; Kenedy, Suarez, Puertas; Soldado
We say: Eibar 1-1 Granada
Eibar will enter the match off the back of an excellent point against Barca, and it is difficult to ignore the amount of players that Granada will be missing on Sunday. It would not be a surprise to see the visitors pick up all three points, but we just fancy a low-scoring draw in this encounter.
Top betting tip
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 Eibar win with a probability of 35.34%. A win for Granada had a probability of 34.56% and a draw had a probability of 30.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Eibar win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.06%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.09%) and 2-0 (6.85%). The likeliest Granada win was 0-1 (12.87%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.51%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 6.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Eibar would win this match.
