La Liga: Osasuna Out to Sink the New Yellow Submarine

Cadiz CF vs Osasuna

After 14 years away, Cadiz are back in La Liga. The Yellow Submarine finished second in the Segunda Division to earn promotion to the top flight.

Cadiz will open their La Liga campaign with a challenging home match against Osasuna, who were themselves newly promoted last season. The Reds had a strong first season back as they finished 10th.

However, they have already suffered a major injury blow to one of their key players, which doesn’t bode well for their chances of building off last season’s success.

Nevertheless, the La Liga 2020 betting odds still give them a good shot at starting this season with a win against the new boys.

Talking Points

Cadiz bring in veteran striker

Cadiz are coming off a fine campaign in the Segunda Division which finally saw them win promotion after finishing second. Although, they fell off during the second half of the season, which was why they were pipped to the title by Huesca on the very last day after leading the league for virtually the entire season.

Cadiz were by no means the most exciting team; they scored just 50 goals in 42 matches — the lowest total among the top seven.

However, they made up for it with a strong defence. They allowed just 39 goals, the third-best defensive record in the division. That was despite having a 40-year-old in Alberto Cifuentes in goal. Now 41, Cifuentes is finally set to make his La Liga debut.

Cadiz haven’t brought in too many new faces for their first season back in La Liga. Most of the players they’ve signed were already with the club on loan last season. Among those players was Choco Lozano, who led the team with 10 non-penalty goals.

By far their biggest new signing is former Sevilla, Valencia, and Manchester City striker Alvaro Negredo, who arrives on a free transfer after spending the last two seasons in Dubai.

Now 34 years old, Negredo is nowhere near his peak anymore, but he can at least provide some La Liga experience for a side that does not have many players who’ve played in the top flight.

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Premier League

Osasuna lose star striker again

Osasuna were one of the big surprises in La Liga last season. Led by manager Jagoba Arraste, they finished 10th as a newly promoted side, ahead of more established La Liga clubs such as Athletic Bilbao and Levante.

They still managed to play well despite missing star striker Ezequiel “Chimy” Avila (10 goals in 20 appearances) for half the season due to an ACL injury in January.
And the unfortunate La Liga 2020 news for Osasuna is that Chimy likely suffered another ACL injury in his other knee during training and is expected to miss at least six more months.

Osasuna also lost left-back Pervis Estupinan, whose loan move from Watford — recently relegated from the Premier League — ended. The 21-year-old played an important role in Osasuna’s offence last season, contributing five assists.

With the absence of Chimy and Estupinan, wingers Ruben Garcia and Roberto Torres will need to carry much of the offensive load once again for Osasuna.
The two were outstanding last season; Garcia had eight goals and two assists while Torres added seven goals and a team-high eight assists.

One of Osasuna’s big strengths last season was their relatively strong away record. They had six wins, six draws, and seven losses in 19 matches. By far one of the highlights of their season was defeating Barcelona at the Camp Nou on the penultimate round of the season.

History

Cadiz and Osasuna have faced each other just nine times since 2003. Osasuna have the decided edge in wins with six to Cadiz’s two, and just one draw.

Their last four league meetings have come in the Segunda. Osasuna are unbeaten in those four matches, with three wins.

Cadiz’s last win over Osasuna came in 2017 as they won 1-0 at home in a third-round Copa del Rey tie.

Betting Tip

	Cadiz CF vs Osasuna	1X2 Draw @ 2.87
	September 13, 03:00 (GMT+8)

The SBOTOP odds between these two clubs are so close. Osasuna are the slight favourites at 2.75, while Cadiz are at 2.79 with the draw not far behind at 2.87.

It would be a bit of an upset to see Cadiz beat Osasuna, although there are bigger potential La Liga upsets around. But with Chimy out for Osasuna, they could find it hard to break down the home side’s resolute defence.

Considering both teams are more defensive in nature, it seems more likely that they play out a draw to open the season than either side claiming all three points.