Valencia vs Cadiz
Valencia will be desperate to bounce back from a heartbreaking 3-2 La Liga loss to Atletico Madrid when they meet a lowly Cadiz at the Estadio de Mestalla in their Copa del Rey quarter-finals tie.
Valencia have delivered a mixed bag of performances since the calendar year flipped to 2022, having picked up just two wins from their five matches in all competitions (D1, L2). They’ve at least been fun to watch as three of those five games have seen over 2.5 goals and both teams on the scoresheet. ‘Los Murciélagos’ have established themselves as the ‘stalemate kings’ at home, registering five draws across their last eight competitive outings at Mestalla (W2, L1). However, with each of those stalemates seeing both teams score, the home crowd could be in for a treat. Additionally, going back to 1989, six of Valencia’s seven home meetings with Cadiz have produced 3+ total goals, underlining the possibility for a high-scoring contest.
But Cadiz have found the away goals hard to come by lately, netting under 1.5 goals in six of their seven competitive road trips since a 7-0 thumping of lower-league side Villa de Fortuna in December’s Copa del Rey clash. Given their scoring woes away from home, it comes as no surprise that ‘El Submarino Amarillo’ have lost all five La Liga games on the road when conceding first this season. Moreover, six of their last seven competitive fixtures have seen one or both sides fail to get on the scoresheet in matches garnering under 2.5 total goals, highlighting the importance of scoring first. Yet, after holding Valencia to a scoreless draw in the first half of the 2021/22 La Liga season, Cadiz will believe in their chances of staging an upset here.