Two sides separated by six points at the bottom end of the La Liga table will do battle on Saturday, as Cadiz play host to Getafe.
The home side currently find themselves in 19th spot, five points adrift of safety, while their visitors have a five-point gap between themselves and the drop zone after their recent climb.
Match preview
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After an impressive first season back in La Liga last term, culminating in a 12th-placed finish, Cadiz again set their sights on preserving their top-flight status this time around, but Los Piratas are certainly finding that far tougher on this occasion.
With the side sat in the relegation zone with just two victories to their name in January, Alvaro Cervera, who had managed them for six years and led them to the top flight, was dismissed and replaced by Sergio.
The change has not had the desired impact at the Nuevo Mirandilla, though, with Copa del Rey wins over Fuenlabrada and Sporting Gijon overshadowed by the fact that the new boss has overseen just a single league victory thus far.
That came in a crucial clash with basement side Levante, as Alvaro Negredo and Salvi Sanchez got on the scoresheet in a 2-0 win, but moods were quickly brought back down by consecutive 2-1 defeats to Valencia and Mallorca.
Following a goalless draw with Celta Vigo last time out, Sergio's men find themselves second-from-bottom after 24 games, and, with a five-point gap to bridge if they are to avoid the drop, they will know they need to quickly correct their form against a side also fighting to stave off relegation.
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Getafe arrive having hugely boosted their survival claim in recent months, now sitting 16th in Spain's top flight.
After losing their first eight games of the season and failing to win any of their opening 11, the Azulones immediately sank to the foot of the division, but, with six victories and 22 points from their last 13 league outings, Getafe have turned their season around.
A run between December and early February was a particular highlight, as Quique Sanchez Flores's side earned victories over Osasuna, Granada, Levante and league leaders Real Madrid alongside a commendable draw with Real Sociedad and a singular defeat to second-placed Sevilla.
While that run was put to an end by Atletico Madrid last time out, the Azulones certainly have reason to be positive about a performance that saw them only fall to a narrow 4-3 loss at the hands of the defending champions, with Mario Hermoso's 89th-minute goal being decisive after Borja Mayoral and Enes Unal looked to have earned their side a result with a goal and a brace respectively.
Still looking to gain momentum, having now climbed five points above the bottom three, Flores's men will look to make a return to winning ways on Saturday to further increase their cushion.
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Team News
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Cadiz's only absentee should be defender Fali, who missed out through injury last time out.
After a clean sheet, Los Piratas should, at least, field an unchanged back line, with Carlos Akapo, Luis Hernandez, Victor Chust and Alfonso Espino again set to shield goalkeeper Jeremias Ledesma.
At the other end of the pitch, Sergio should again call upon experienced striker Alvaro Negredo to lead the line, with the 21-capped Spaniard having hit four league goals so far this season after finding the net eight times in their impressive league campaign last term.
Getafe have kept a relatively tight-knit core of regular starters for the duration of their upturn in form, and Flores should again trust his key men, with Sabit Abdulai, David Soria, Mathias Oliveira and Sandro Ramirez all expected to continue spells on the sidelines, while Carles Alena also missed out at the weekend.
Borja Mayoral and Enes Unal should again spearhead the attack after their impressive showings against Atletico Madrid, with Nemanja Maksimovic, Mauro Arambarri and Oscar Rodriguez set to reform their midfield trio in Alena's absence.
Cadiz possible starting lineup:
Ledesma; Akapo, Hernandez, Chust, Espino; Sanchez, Alcaraz, Alarcon, Idrissi; Negredo, Lozano
Getafe possible starting lineup:
Soria; Suarez, Djene, Mitrovic, Cuenca, Jankto; Maksimovic, Arambarri, Rodriguez; Unal, Mayoral
We say: Cadiz 0-1 Getafe
Getafe came out as 4-0 winners in the reverse future in November, and, while we do not see this affair being that much of a landslide, we do back the Azulones to pick up another victory.
Although Cadiz may be showing gradual improvement of their own, Flores's men have looked a completely new side in recent months, and we see them leaving with a seventh league win of the campaign.
Top 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 Getafe win with a probability of 37.38%. A win for Cadiz had a probability of 32.95% and a draw had a probability of 29.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Getafe win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.17%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (7.46%) and 0-2 (7.3%). The likeliest Cadiz win was 1-0 (12.14%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.45%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 13.5% likelihood.
