Preview: Eibar vs. Cadiz - prediction, team news, lineups

Two teams in impressive form will lock horns at Estadio Municipal de Ipurua on Friday evening with Eibar welcoming Cadiz in Spain's top flight.

Eibar have picked up eight points from their first seven matches of the 2020-21 La Liga campaign to occupy 11th position in the table, while Cadiz are sixth with 11 points to show from their first seven fixtures.

Match preview

© Reuters

Eibar's form in the early weeks of the season - three defeats from their first four matches - led to suggestions that it could be a long and difficult campaign for Jose Luis Mendilibar 's side.

Los Armeros have picked up seven points from their last three fixtures, though, including an excellent 1-0 victory away to Europa League holders Sevilla last weekend.

Eibar have also beaten Real Valladolid and drawn with Osasuna since the start of October, and a total of eight points from seven matches has left them in 11th, above Barcelona in the table.

The Basque side have not actually operated outside of Spain's top flight since the 2013-14 campaign, but they finished 14th last term and will be keen to stay clear of the bottom three, even at this early stage.

© Reuters

Cadiz, meanwhile, have both surprised and impressed many with their performances in the early weeks of the campaign, showing that they are more than capable of operating at this level of football after a long absence.

A record of three wins, two draws and two defeats from seven matches has left them in sixth position in the table, only three points off division leaders Real Sociedad on the same number of games.

The Yellow Submarine were promoted back to La Liga for the first time since the 2005-06 season courtesy of finishing second in the Segunda Division last term.

There has been no inferiority complex in the early stages of 2020-21, though, having beaten Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid in their last two away matches, while they picked up a good point at home to Villarreal on Sunday.

The big games keep coming for Alvaro Cervera 's side as they will face Atletico Madrid, Real Sociedad and Barcelona in three of their next five matches, and it will be fascinating to see where the newly-promoted club sit in the table heading into the latter stages of 2020.

Eibar La Liga form: LLLWDW

Cadiz La Liga form: WLWDWD

Team News

© Reuters

Eibar will again be without both Sergio Cubero and Cote through injury, but Recio and Pedro Bigas could both recover from muscular issues in time for the contest.

On-loan Newcastle United forward Yoshinori Muto is still waiting for his first goal for Eibar, and the 28-year-old might have to accept a spot on the bench once again with Takashi Inui expected to continue alongside Kike in the final third of the field.

Edu Exposito is also pushing for a start, having overcome a knee injury to feature off the bench against Sevilla, although Mendilibar could ultimately decide to select the same XI that won at the Estadio Ramon.

As for Cadiz, Luismi Quezada, Isaac Carcelen and Marcos Mauro are all on the sidelines through injury, but the visitors are otherwise in good shape for Friday's contest.

Anthony Lozano overcame a knock to start alongside Alvaro Negredo in the final third of the field against Villarreal, and the 27-year-old should retain his spot in the XI for this game.

Jairo Izquierdo and Filip Malbasic are options for change in the attacking positions, but Cervera is expected to stick with the side that picked up a point against Unai Emery's side.

Eibar possible starting lineup:

Dmitrovic; Pozo, Oliveira, Burgos, Arbilla; Rodrigues, Alvarez, Diop, Gil; Kike, Inui

Cadiz possible starting lineup:

Ledesma; Akapo, Jimenez, Cala, Espino; Salvi, Mari, Jonsson, Alex; Negredo, Lozano

We say: Eibar 1-1 Cadiz

Both sides will enter Friday's match full of confidence following strong recent runs, and we are finding it very difficult to separate them. There is not an awful lot between the two sets of players in terms of quality, and a draw would not be the worst result in the world for either manager.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.