Preview: Real Valladolid vs. Eibar - prediction, team news, lineups

Eibar will be looking to stop a run of three successive defeats in La Liga when they continue their 2020-21 campaign away to Real Valladolid on Saturday afternoon.

The visitors have only picked up one point from their four matches this term, while Valladolid have also made a disappointing start, collecting just two points from their opening four encounters.

Match preview

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Valladolid made an encouraging start to their 2020-21 campaign, sharing the spoils with Real Sociedad on September 13, but they suffered a 2-0 defeat away to Real Betis one week later.

Sergio Gonzalez 's side then drew 1-1 with Celta Vigo on September 27, before losing 1-0 at Real Madrid on Wednesday night, with Vinicius Junior deciding the contest in the 65th minute.

It is difficult to take too much notice of the league table at this stage, but Valladolid are sitting in 18th position and will be wary of what another disappointing result could do to their confidence.

Pucela impressed in Spain's top flight last term, claiming 13th, which was actually their highest finish at this level since 2001-02, and they will be looking to push away from the bottom three as soon as possible.

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Eibar, meanwhile, opened their campaign with a goalless draw against Celta but have not managed to pick up a single point since, which has left them in 19th position in the table.

Indeed, back-to-back 2-1 defeats by Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao were followed by a 1-0 home loss to Elche on Wednesday night, with Lucas Boye 's effort proving the difference between the two sides.

Eibar have not played outside of La Liga since the 2013-14 campaign, while they finished ninth in 2017-18 before claiming 12th the season after.

Jose Luis Mendilibar 's side were 14th last term, though, just six points above the bottom three, while only three teams lost more La Liga matches in 2019-20, which will be concerning at the start of this campaign.

Real Valladolid La Liga form: DLDL

Eibar La Liga form: DLLL

Team News

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Sergi Guardiola was named on the bench for Wednesday's clash with Madrid, but the Spaniard is expected to return to the starting XI for this weekend's contest.

Valladolid's injury list is fairly substantial at the moment, with Javi Moyano, Joaquin Fernandez, Ruben Alcaraz, Sekou Gassama and Kiko Olivas all on the sidelines.

Kike Perez is pushing for a start, having come off the bench against Madrid, but Oscar Plano and Waldo Rubio should both keep their positions in the final third of the field.

As for Eibar, Jose Angel remains on the sidelines through injury, while Sergi Enrich faces a late fitness test as he attempts to overcome a knock.

Yoshinori Muto, who recently joined the club on loan from Newcastle United, made his first start against Elche on Wednesday and should again get the nod alongside Kike in attack.

Sergio Alvarez could replace Recio in the middle of the park, though, with the latter being withdrawn in the 24th minute of his team's 1-0 defeat last time out.

Real Valladolid possible starting lineup:

Jimenez; Hervias, Bruno, Sanchez, Garcia; Fede, Michel; Orellana, Plano, Rubio; Guardiola

Eibar possible starting lineup:

Dmitrovic; Tejero, Arbilla, Bigas, Rodrigues; Leon, Edu, Alvarez, Inui; Kike, Muto

We say: Real Valladolid 1-1 Eibar

Both managers will view this match as the perfect opportunity to put three points on the board, but we are struggling to separate them on this occasion. There is not an awful lot between the two sides in terms of quality, and we are backing a low-scoring draw on Saturday afternoon.

Top betting tip

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