Cadiz vs Barcelona

Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla is the venue as Cadiz and Barcelona lock horns in contrasting La Liga circumstances.

Cadiz’s desperate push to secure La Liga survival received another boost last time out as they squeezed past Granada 1-0 at home, racking up a fourth unbeaten league game in their most recent five (W2, D2, L1). Interestingly, the eight points they claimed in that run account for nearly a third of their La Liga points total this season, suggesting new manager Mauricio Pellegrino is doing excellent work. But there’s no room for complacency as his men head into this round trailing 17th-placed Celta Vigo by three points. Despite Cadiz’s underdog status ahead of the kick-off, El Submarino Amarillo can draw confidence from their traditionally decent home form. In fact, 19 of their 25 league points this season have come at home!

As for Barcelona, a superb come-from-behind 3-2 triumph at Paris Saint-Germain in midweek Champions League action made it five wins on the trot for Xavi Hernandez’s side in all competitions. However, the visitors’ hopes of defending their La Liga crown are nearly dead in the water, with table-topping Real Madrid eight points off at the start of this matchday. The Blaugrana will look to hold up their end of the bargain as they take this trip amidst a nine-game unbeaten league run (W7, D2), featuring five consecutive clean sheets in the build-up to this trip. But it’s worth noting they’ve only recorded two shutouts in 14 of their last 16 away games.