Celta Vigo and Osasuna square off on Wednesday evening with just two points separating the clubs in the La Liga standings.
Despite both clubs occupying a place in the bottom half of the table, they have each suffered just two defeats in their last six fixtures.
Match preview
© Reuters
Such as been Celta Vigo's inconsistent form throughout the campaign that they have required 10 points from six games just to move clear of the relegation zone.
Still only sitting six points above the bottom three, Eduardo Coudet will be far from pleased with the club's league position, but there is at least reason for optimism at Estadio de Balaidos.
Nevertheless, there remains a feeling that they require a positive result from Wednesday's contest in order to bounce back from successive defeats in all competitions.
Having lost 2-1 at lower-league Atletico Baleares in the Copa del Rey, Os Celestes went down to an early goal against Real Sociedad last time out in the league.
While Celta Vigo possess the second-worst home record in La Liga, they have still collected five points from their last four matches on familiar territory.
As far as Osasuna are concerned, they head into this contest having finally ended a 10-match winless streak in Spain's top flight with victory over Cadiz.
Goals either side of half time from Ante Budimir and Kike Barja secured all three points for Jagoba Arrasate, who will feel fortunate to still be in a job.
However, as it stands, Osasuna are another win away from moving level on points with ninth-placed Athletic Bilbao, highlighting the small margins in the table.
Despite having played fewer away fixtures than all but one team in the division, Osasuna still possess the eighth-best return, posting 14 points from nine games.
- W
- L
- D
- W
- W
- L
- D
- W
- W
- W
- L
- L
- D
- D
- D
- L
- L
- W
- D
- W
- L
- L
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Despite having gone down by a narrow scoreline at Sociedad, Coudet could stick with the same Celta side which started that game.
Nolito is expected to remain among the replacements, where he could be joined by Augusto Solaro, Ruben Blanco and Renato Tapia after injuries.
Osasuna have been dealt a double blow by the news that David Garcia and Unai Garcia have both tested positive for coronavirus.
If long-term injury victim Aridane Hernandez is not regarded fit enough for selection, Oier Sanjurjo may partner Juan Cruz in the middle of the defence.
Barring any more unforeseen issues, Arrasate could stick with the rest of the team which saw off Cadiz.
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Dituro; Mallo; Aidoo, Araujo, Galan; Mendez, Beltran, Suarez, Cervi; Aspas, Mina
Osasuna possible starting lineup:
Herrera; Vidal, Sanjurjo, Cruz, Cote; Barja, Moncayola, Torro, Garcia; Garcia, Budimir
We say: Celta Vigo 1-1 Osasuna
Both teams will view this as an opportunity to create further distance between themselves and the relegation zone. However, they will also be wary of suffering a defeat which will keep them looking over their shoulders, leading us to predict a low-scoring draw.
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 Celta Vigo win with a probability of 40.55%. A win for Osasuna had a probability of 32.67% and a draw had a probability of 26.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Celta Vigo win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.82%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.54%) and 2-0 (7.26%). The likeliest Osasuna win was 0-1 (9.49%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.72%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 7.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Celta Vigo would win this match.