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Cadiz will be up against newly crowned Spanish champions Real Madrid in La Liga at Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla on the 15th of May. The two sides are on the polar opposite sides of the La Liga table. While Real Madrid have already been confirmed as the new Spanish champions, Cadiz are struggling to fight for survival and will be bidding to stay up in the top flight when they host the league winners on Sunday evening.
The hosts are currently placed 17th in the league table. While they have a two-point advantage over Mallorca in 18th place (where the relegation zone begins), they cannot afford to count on it and will be hosting a Real Madrid side who put six goals past relegation-threatened Levante who are now set for the drop. Cadiz will be desperate to avoid the same fate and will have to struggle to keep a side, who had already confirmed their title at the end of April, at bay.
Cadiz will be heading into this contest of the back of a 3-0 loss at the hands of Real Sociedad on Thursday. However, they still have the comfort of knowing that they’re outside the relegation zone at the moment and things are starting to heat up as the Spanish league, known more commonly as La Liga, heads into the final few fixtures of the season.
Indeed, the hosts have managed to secure only 35 points from their 36 matches, so for, which has left them languishing in the 17th position on the table. They are just two points ahead of Mallorca in 18th place which isn’t the security that they would have liked at this point of the season. With that being said, however, there is a chance that Cadiz could secure survival in the top flight this weekend, depending on the result of Mallorca’s match against Rayo Vallecano which takes place at the same time on the same day.
Cadiz are struggling to stay up in the top flight of Spanish football for two consecutive seasons for the first time since 1993. While their spirited performances haven’t been amiss on anyone, especially last season when they slayed league giants Barcelona and Real Madrid and finished as high as 12th in the table, this particular campaign has been quite underwhelming and disappointing.
Sergio Gonzalez’s men have the worst home record in La Liga this season. They’ve managed a meager 17 points from their 18 games so far at the Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla. In sharp contrast, they will be welcoming a Real Madrid side, who obviously have the best away record in the country’s top division this season.
The hosts will end their league campaign with an away trip to Alaves on May 22. We could be in for a surprise in this fixture as Cadiz had held Real Madrid to a goalless stalemate at the Santiago Bernabeu earlier this season. However, when the two sides had clashed against each other in the Andalusian port town of Cadiz last season, Real Madrid had recorded a straightforward 3-0 victory.
Champions Real Madrid fell to a 1-0 defeat against Atletico Madrid in the Madrid Derby the previous weekend. While the Madrid Derby is synonymous with bragging rights in the capital city of Spain, the fixture didn’t amount to much as Real Madrid had already pocketed the title by the end of April with a comfortable win over Barcelona-based side Espanyol. This allowed manager Carlo Ancelotti the opportunity to rotate and rest his key players.
Unsurprisingly, Los Blancos return to winning ways after they put six goals past Levante in a comfortable match last Thursday. Brazilian winger Vinicius Junior netted a hattrick in the 6-0 thrashing while Ferland Mendy, Karim Benzema, and Rodrygo also got on the scoresheet.
While the Spanish champions have 2 more matches in the league left against Cadiz and Real Betis, it is quite obvious that the complete focus is lying on the all-important Champions League final clash against Liverpool in Paris on May 28. Therefore, head coach Carlo Ancelotti is expected to continue with his policy of rotating and resting players and giving minutes to the fringe players in the squad.
Los Blancos have recorded 26 victories this season. They’ve drawn six matches and have lost four of their 36 league games so far to amass 84 points on top of the La Liga table. They have a 12-point lead over arch-rivals Barcelona in second place and it will be a historic campaign for the club if they somehow end up beating Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in the final of Europe’s premier competition once again. They had beaten Liverpool to win their 13th Champions League title in 2018.
Real Madrid have been extremely successful away from home this season and have picked up 41 points on the road. They will be looking to maintain their strong morale in the camp with another impressive display this weekend against Cadiz. The hosts are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the league table and Real Madrid will be insistent on inflicting more misery and pain on the side come the end of the season.
CDZ vs RMA, La Liga 2021/22
Date: 15th May, 2022
Time: 11:00 PM IST
Venue: Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla, Cadiz
FORM GUIDE:
Cadiz La Liga form:
- L-W-L-D-W-L
Cadiz form (all competitions):
- L-W-L-D-W-L
Real Madrid La Liga form:
- W-W-W-W-L-W
Real Madrid form (all competitions):
- W-L-W-W-L-W
HEAD-TO-HEAD:
Cadiz wins: 1
Draws: 1
Real Madrid wins: 4
TEAM NEWS:
Cadiz Team News: Cadiz will once again miss the services of Varazdat Haroyan, who is suffering from a shoulder problem. Ivan Alejo was also forced off the field against Real Sociedad just 12 minutes after entering the pitch and is the major doubt for this clash against the Spanish champions.
Besides these minor issues, the home side have a strong squad which head coach Sergio Gonzalez is expected to make full use of. There will be some changes from the starting XI that took to the field against Real Sociedad but otherwise, Cadiz will not be looking to shuffle things around too much.
Ruben Alcaraz could be returned to the center of the part to bolster the midfield. Meanwhile, veteran striker Alvaro Negredo is pushing to feature alongside Lucas Perez in the final third of the field.
Real Madrid Team News: The league champions, on the other hand, will continue to miss the services of Eden Hazard. Hazard’s move from Chelsea to Real Madrid hasn’t worked out at all and he has spent most of his career with Real Madrid on the sidelines. Midfielder Dani Ceballos is also out with an illness.
Carlo Angelotti might also have to make some adjustments at the back as David Alaba is doubtful due to a hamstring injury and will be assessed ahead of kick-off. Gareth Bale also remains sidelined with a back problem and is doubtful for this clash. Isco, Marco Asensio and Marcelo are all out of contention and they missed the game against Levante due to injury and will continue to be absent here.
Defensive midfielder Casemiro started at center back in the match against Espanyol but is likely to return to his usual position following Eder Militao’s return to the side. Toni Kroos is also expected to return to the starting XI after being rested in the previous clash against Levante. Dani Carvajal should also be back as he, too, was given a rest on Thursday.
Ancelotti is also unlikely to make too many changes in midfield and attack. However, either Federico Valverde or Eduardo Camavinga, who have both been impressive in the Champions League, could start in central midfield along with Toni Kroos as the Italian manager will look to provide veteran midfield maestro Luka Modric some well-deserved rest.
French star Karim Benzema has been on a dreamy run of form this season. He has scored several late and crucial match-winning goals for Real Madrid. He has reached the mark of 25 league goals in Spain for the first time in his career and has also assisted 11 goals to his teammates. However, both Benzema as well as Vinicius Junior, who scored a hattrick in the previous match, might be rested here in favour of Luka Jovic who hasn’t seen too many minutes this season.
Ancelotti might also hand Andriy Lunin a rare start in La Liga in order to rest their number 1 in goal Thibaut Courtois who has had yet another strong and successful campaign for the league champions.
Cadiz possible starting lineup:
Ledesma; Akapo, Hernandez, Chust, Espino; Sobrino, Mari, Alcaraz, Idrissi; Negredo, Perez
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Lunin; Carvajal, Militao, Nacho, Mendy; Camavinga, Casemiro, Kroos; Valverde, Jovic, Rodrygo
CDZ vs RMA Predictions:
There is no doubt that Cadiz will be the hunger of the two sides heading into this clash. However, Real Madrid have enough resilience in their squad, and even with the prospect of shuffling the pack, they will be expected to come out on top. Add to that the ruthless performance against Levante, who are also down at the bottom of the relegation zone and there is no doubt that the league champions will be the favourites to pick up all three points from this encounter.
