Cádiz Club de Fútbol has managed to avert the threat of relegation with one matchday left in LaLiga Hypermotion. The team will face Racing de Santander, who have already secured promotion to the First Division, in a match to be held on Sunday, May 31st, at the Campos de Sport de El Sardinero. Safety was achieved last weekend after a 3-0 victory against Leganés, allowing the Cadiz team to approach this final game with tranquility and the goal of ending the season on a positive note.
Coach Imanol Idiakez has emphasized the importance of maintaining competitiveness and pride in the club's crest, even in a match without direct implications for the standings. The main challenge for the coach is the considerable list of absentees, affecting all areas of the team and reaching its peak with twelve players unavailable. This situation has been a constant throughout the championship but is particularly acute at the season's close.
Among the players not included in the squad are goalkeeper Víctor Aznar; defenders Iza Carcelén, Bojan Kovacevic, and Mario Climent; midfielders Rominigue Kouamé and Joaquín González; wingers Iuri Tabatadze, Suso, Javier Ontiveros, and Brian Ocampo; and forwards Roger Martí and Lucas Pérez. The absence of so many players is such that a full starting lineup could be formed with the unavailable players.
To complete the squad list, the coaching staff has called upon several youth academy players. Joining the team are goalkeepers Fer Pérez and Rubén Rubio, full-back Juan Díaz, center-backs Álex Beltrán and César Díaz, and winger Pablo Arana. Idiakez's objective is for the team to show character and compete for the three points against what has been the strongest rival in the league.
The probable lineups for the match are: for Racing de Santander, Ezkieta; Sangalli, Mantilla or Manu Hernando, Javi Castro, Salinas; Iñigo, Aldasoro, Canales, Vicente; Andrés Martín, and Villalibre. For Cádiz CF, the likely starters are David Gil; Juan Díaz, Pelayo Fernández, Iker Recio, Arribas; Álex Fernández, Ortuño, Diarra, De la Rosa, Antoñito, and García Pascual or Dawda. The match will be officiated by referee Alejandro Morilla Turrión, with Raúl Martín González Francés in charge of VAR.
