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

The home side are currently 19th in Spain's top flight, boasting only 11 points from their opening 14 matches of the season, while Almeria sit 14th, having collected 16 points from their first 14 games of 2022-23.

Match preview

Cadiz have not been in competitive action since suffering a 3-2 defeat to Real Union in the Copa del Rey on November 13, but they have played four mid-season friendlies over the last month.

The Yellow Submarine can certainly take confidence from their non-competitive matches, as they beat Manchester United 4-2 on December 7 and also managed to overcome Roma 3-0 last time out.

Cadiz's last La Liga victory was a 3-2 success over Atletico Madrid on October 29, but they entered the break for the World Cup off the back of a 2-1 defeat to the champions Real Madrid.

Sergio Gonzalez's side are currently 19th in the table, boasting a record of two wins, five draws and seven defeats from their 14 matches, which has brought them 11 points.

Cadiz are the lowest goalscorers in the league this season with nine, which is certainly a concern at this stage of the campaign, and games against the likes of Almeria are likely to go a long way to determining whether they are capable of securing another season of top-flight action.

Almeria, meanwhile, are currently 14th in the La Liga table, having picked up 16 points from their opening 14 matches of the 2022-23 campaign.

Rojiblancos won last season's Segunda Division to secure a return to this level, and they are bidding to make it back-to-back campaigns in Spain's top flight for the first time since 2015.

Rubi's side were also knocked out of the Copa del Rey before the season was halted for the World Cup, suffering a 2-0 loss to Arenteiro on November 13.

Almeria have won three of their last five in the league, though, while they have been victorious in each of their last four La Liga matches in front of their own supporters.

La Union have struggled on their travels this term, picking up just one point from their seven matches, scoring only three times in the process, which is the worst record in the division.

Almeria have also lost five of their last eight league matches with Cadiz, failing to win in the process, with all of those fixtures taking place in Spain's second tier.

Cadiz La Liga form:

D

D

L

W

D

L

Cadiz form (all competitions):

W

D

L

W

L

W

Almeria La Liga form:

L

W

L

W

L

W

Team News

Cadiz will need to make late checks on Victor Chust, Jon Ander Garrido and Joseba Zaldua to determine their availability for Friday's contest.

Head coach Sergio will have been pleased with his team's performance against Real Madrid before the international break, so it would not be a surprise to see a similar side take to the field for this match.

Lucas Perez came off the bench to score at Bernabeu and could come into the side alongside Anthony Lozano in the final third of the field, with Alvaro Negredo likely to start on the bench for the hosts.

As for Almeria, Ivan Martos remains a long-term absentee due to an ACL injury.

The visitors will also be missing Rodrigo Ely, with the centre-back picking up two yellow cards to be sent off in the league contest with Getafe last time out.

Kaiky was suspended for the game against Getafe, though, so he should now come back in to replace Ely in potentially the only alteration from the one-goal success in the league last time out.

Cadiz possible starting lineup:

Ledesma; Carcelen, Fali, Cala, Espino; Alejo, Fede, Alcaraz, Sobrino; Lozano, Perez

Almeria possible starting lineup:

Martinez; Pozo, Kaiky, Babic, Akieme; Baptistao, Robertone, De la Hoz, Melero, Embarba; Toure

We say: Cadiz 1-1 Almeria

Almeria's home form this season has been impressive, but their away form has been disastrous, which should hand Cadiz confidence. The Yellow Submarine have only won once in front of their own fans this term, though, so we have had to settle on a low-scoring draw in this contest.

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