Granada will be looking to make it back-to-back wins in La Liga for the first time this season when they make the trip to Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla on Monday evening to take on Cadiz.
The visitors will enter the contest off the back of a 2-1 victory over Alaves last time out, which moved them up into 15th position in the table, while 18th-placed Cadiz suffered a 3-1 defeat to Elche.
Match preview
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Cadiz were so impressive on their return to the top flight of Spanish football last season, claiming 12th position in the table, finishing 10 points clear of the relegation zone.
The Yellow Submarine have found it difficult to show consistency in the opening months of this campaign, though, with a total of 12 points from 16 matches leaving them in 18th position.
Cadiz would move level on points with Granada if they manage to pick up a victory on Monday evening, but Alvaro Cervera's side have lost each of their last three in the league to Getafe, Atletico Madrid and Elche.
Worryingly, the Pirates have the worst defensive record in La Liga this season, conceding 30 times in their 16 matches, while they have only found the back of the opposition's net on 14 occasions, and it does appear that the club will be involved in a relegation scrap in Spain's top flight this term.
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Having finished seventh and ninth in their last two La Liga campaigns, it would be fair to say that Granada were not picked out as potential relegation candidates at the start of this season, but it has been a difficult opening few months to the 2021-22 campaign for the club.
Indeed, a record of three wins, six draws and six defeats from 15 matches has seen them collect 15 points, which is only enough for 15th position, while they are just three points outside of the relegation zone.
Robert Moreno's side managed to pick up a huge three points against Alaves on December 3, though, with Santiago Arias's 86th-minute effort securing a 2-1 victory at Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes.
Granada will now be bidding to make it back-to-back wins in Spain's top flight for the first time since April, and they are unbeaten in their last three matches in all competitions, having drawn 2-2 with Athletic Bilbao in the league at the end of November before thumping Laguna 7-0 in the Copa del Rey.
Both meetings between Granada and Cadiz last season were close affairs, with the points shared in a 1-1 draw in Andalusia, while Cadiz ran out 1-0 winners when the pair met at Nuevo Estadio de Los Carmenes.
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Team News
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Cadiz will be without the services of Isaac Carcelen, Tomas Alarcon, Jose Mari and Jon Ander Garrido on Monday through injury, while Fali remains a doubt for the Yellow Submarine.
Head coach Cervera is again expected to select Anthony Lozano and Ruben Sobrino in the final third of the field, with Alvaro Negredo likely to have to accept a spot on the bench once again.
Salvi Sanchez is in line to replace the injured Carcelen in a wide area, but Alex Fernandez and Jens Jonsson should retain their spots in the middle of the park.
As for Granada, Neyder Lozano and Darwin Machis remain unavailable for selection, while German Sanchez, Victor Diaz, Ruben Rochina, Domingos Duarte and Isma Ruiz are all doubts.
Angel Montoro is available following a suspension, but it would not be a surprise to see head coach Moreno select the same XI that started the 2-1 win over Alaves last time out.
Antonio Puertas opened the scoring for Granada on December 3 and should again feature in midfield, with Jorge Molina and Luis Suarez lining up as the two forwards in a 4-4-2 formation.
Cadiz possible starting lineup:
Ledesma; Iza, Haroyan, Chust, Espino; Sanchez, Alex, Jonsson, Perea; Lozano, Sobrino
Granada possible starting lineup:
Maximiano; Quini, Abram, Torrente, Neva; Puertas, Milla, Gonalons, Escudero; Molina, Suarez
We say: Cadiz 0-1 Granada
Cadiz's form is worrying at this stage of the season, and the fact that their next league match after this one is away to Real Madrid makes this an even bigger contest. Granada have shown improvement in recent weeks, though, and we are backing the visitors to secure all three points courtesy of a one-goal win.
Matt Law
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 Granada win with a probability of 45.07%. A win for Cadiz had a probability of 28.01% and a draw had a probability of 26.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Granada win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.25%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.86%) and 0-2 (8.54%). The likeliest Cadiz win was 1-0 (9.13%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.71%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.7% likelihood.
