Cadiz vs Valencia

Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla is the venue as troubled Cadiz and in-form Valencia lock horns in a bottom-half La Liga clash.

It’s still unfathomable how Cadiz resisted the temptation to sack underperforming manager Sergio Gonzalez following a dismal 2-0 defeat at fellow relegation rivals Granada last time out. A significant portion of Cadiz’s fanbase has called for Gonzalez’s dismissal after a disastrous 15-game winless La Liga run (D8, L7) demoted the troubled Andalusian outfit to 18th in the standings. Still only one point adrift of 17th-placed Sevilla, ‘El Submarino Amarillo’ could finish this round outside the bottom three if they can avenge a 2-0 defeat in the reverse fixture. Encouragingly for Gonalzez, his men have emerged victorious in two of their last three top-flight H2Hs on home turf (D1) since a 1-0 loss in 2005. Both those wins came by the same 2-1 scoreline, suggesting the division’s worst attack could add to their 14-goal La Liga tally.

In the meantime, Valencia signed off for 2023 with a gutsy 1-0 win at Rayo Vallecano before demolishing Villarreal 3-1 at the start of the new calendar year to move 11 points clear of the relegation zone. However, fatigue could pose a genuine threat to the visitors’ bid to maintain their league resurgence after a 2-1 extra-time victory against second-tier Cartagena in Copa del Rey action last time out. Playing outside Mestalla is another potential concern for manager Ruben Baraja, whose men have suffered three defeats on their four most recent La Liga travels (W1), ominously netting under 1.5 goals on each occasion.