Sporting Gijon and Cadiz continue their Copa del Rey campaign on Saturday evening with a tie in the last 16.
While the visitors, who have changed managers this week, are sitting in the La Liga relegation zone, the home side are down in 14th position in the second tier.
Match preview
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On the back of just one La Liga victory in 15 matches, Alvaro Cervera can have few complaints about his dismissal as manager of Cadiz.
The decision has been taken with Cadiz sitting four points adrift of safety, but there can be some sympathy with Cervera with his side having conceded just four times in as many games, a run which included a goalless draw at Real Madrid.
Nevertheless, the powers-that-be at Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla have ultimately moved to bring in Sergio Gonzalez as his replacement, the 45-year-old taking on his first role since departing Real Valladolid in May.
Sergio will be desperate to make a quick impression, and a game in this competition feels ideal ahead of a crucial triple-header against Espanyol, Levante and Mallorca.
The Yellow Submarine have reached this stage of the competition with wins at Villa de Fortuna, Albacete and Fuenlabrada without conceding a goal.
Sporting Gijon find themselves down in the bottom half of the Segunda Division table, but that does not tell the whole story as far as their form is concerned.
David Gallego's team have gone six matches without defeat in all competitions, the standout result during that period being the 2-1 triumph over Villarreal in this competition.
The Red and Whites came from behind to see off their in-form La Liga opponents, defender Bohdan Milovanov netting the decisive goal with two minutes remaining.
Although Sporting Gijon have registered just one win from four games in the league, optimism is high both on and off the pitch, and they will fancy their chances of taking a second La Liga scalp within the space of nine days.
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Team News
Sporting Gijon may make at least two changes with Aitor Garcia and Pedro Diaz being substituted before the second half against Malaga.
Gaspar Campos and Nacho Mendez appear in line to take their places, but Gallego may stick with the remainder of the team which started the previous game.
The Cadiz starting lineup is somewhat of an unknown with Sergio having minimal time to work with his squad.
Alterations may be kept to a minimum, but Ivan Alejo and Florian Andone will both be hoping for a recall after their lack of time on the pitch this season.
Sporting Gijon possible starting lineup:
Marino; Milovanov, Babin, Berrocal, Kravets; Mendez, Gragera; Campos, Villalba, Rodriguez; Durdevic
Cadiz possible starting lineup:
Ledesma; Fali, Cala, Chust, Espino; Alejo, Jonsson, Alarcon, Arzamendia; Fernandez, Andone
We say: Sporting Gijon 0-1 Cadiz
Many will view this contest as a 50-50 tie despite the margin between the clubs in the Spanish football pyramid. However, we are backing Cadiz to come through by a narrow scoreline as they bid to impress their new manager.
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 Sporting Gijon win with a probability of 47.8%. A draw had a probability of 27% and a win for Cadiz had a probability of 25.16%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sporting Gijon win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.42%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.46%) and 2-1 (8.91%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.64%), while for a Cadiz win it was 0-1 (8.97%).
