Bottom-of-the-table Elche host relegation candidates Cadiz in the final round of La Liga fixtures on Sunday night at Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero.
After having a torrid season in La Liga, Elche will play out their final game with only pride to play for since they have already been relegated and they cannot move from last place. They have hit form at the wrong time too after losing just once in their last six matches. That includes a 1-0 victory away to Athletic Bilbao in their most recent outing as Lucas Boye snatched a last-gasp winner.
Now onto their sixth man in charge for the season, Sebastián Beccacece came in with little hope of being able to stay up and Elche were confirmed as down just seven games after he took over. He failed to inspire much improvement, losing six of those seven matches before their fate was sealed. However, since relegation has been confirmed, it has seemingly eased the pressure and they have gone undefeated.
The hosts could still play a huge role in determining the rest of the drop zone, nevertheless, since Cadiz are still fighting for their place in the top flight next term. Despite leading the way out of the other six contenders, just two points separates them and the bottom three. Everything is set-up for a dramatic final day in La Liga.
The visitors have won two out of their last three too so enter this one with decent momentum. However, their away form has failed to inspire too much confidence, having lost their last three consecutive matches on their travels. Goals have been extremely hard to come by for Cadiz as well and they are ranked joint-bottom in the division for that metric, joined solely by Elche themselves.
A result for Cadiz will ultimately seal their spot in the top flight and even a loss will do, providing results elsewhere go their way. It certainly seems unlikely at this stage that they will go down, especially since they have the upper hand in some head-to-heads over other relegation candidates.
The away side have enjoyed very little success when playing at Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero and have failed to win in any of their last four visits, losing two and drawing two. The Yellow Submarine suffered a 3-1 defeat the last time they played away to Elche and only managed to draw 1-1 in the most recent meeting in Cadiz.
Elche forward Boye could be the man to cause Cadiz issues here with his six league goals on the year leaving him as the club’s joint-top goalscorer this term alongside Pere Milla. Boye has scored three in his last six appearances so is in decent form as well. Theo Bongonda has been the talisman for Cadiz this term and has seven goal contributions in La Liga thus far.
Ever-present defender Carlos Clerc will be absent for the hosts on the final match of the campaign due to suspension. He will join Omar Mascarell, Helibelton Palacios, Diego Gonzalez, Jose Angel Carmona and Jony Alamo on the sidelines.
Cadiz are expected to be dealing with a plethora of selection issues here with midfielder Ruben Alcaraz suspended due to yellow card accumulation. Juan Cala, Victor Chust, Fali, Alex Fernandez, Jon Ander Garrido, Brian Ocampo, Chris Ramos and Joseba Zaldua are all expected to miss out too.
UK fans can view the significant La Liga clash live on Viaplay and on La Liga TV.
Expert Insight: Both teams have struggled for goals all season so we are anticipating a low-scoring affair here. Elche have the freedom of not much at stake, while Cadiz can likely bank on not needing a result to stay up. It should be a close game with the most likely outcome being a stalemate.
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