Cordoba come into this game with solid form, particularly on the road where they are unbeaten in their last seven away games. Overall, they've lost just three of their last 14 matches, with those defeats coming against top sides Almeria, Racing Santander, and Huesca.

On the other hand, Zaragoza have been struggling for a long stretch of games. In their last 18 league outings, they have managed to win only two, both of which were against fellow bottom-six teams Ferrol and Malaga. Zaragoza’s home form is especially concerning, with just one win in their last nine home games, which was the fortunate win against Ferrol (Ferrol missing a penalty late on and also having a man sent off).

Adding to their problems, Zaragoza will be missing several key players for this match. Marcos Luna, their first-choice right-back when fit, is suspended, as is striker Samed Bazdar. The midfield is also weakened by the injury to Keidi Bare, who has been unavailable since the game before last. In his absence, Arriaga attempted to fill the gap in midfield last game but it didn’t go well, as they suffered a heavy 4-1 loss. To make matters worse, Arriaga is away on international duty with Honduras, Arriaga is key to the spine of Zaragoza, usually at centre back but at times filling in at centre midfield, his absence along with Keidi Bare should be problematic.

Cordoba also have a couple of absences, winger Adilson is still out and unlikely to be fit for this game, and top scorer Antonio Casas, who picked up a second yellow while on the bench last game after coming off. While the absence of Casas might sound problematic, it’s worth noting that his form has been poor recently. In the nine games since his last suspension, he’s scored just one goal and provided one assist. His likely replacement, Nikolay Oboloskiy, scored and assisted in his last start in the away win over Oviedo when Casas was suspended, matching Casas’ output over the last nine games in just one start.

Cordoba’s poor away record early in the season is misleading. They started terribly on the road, losing eight of their first nine away games, but this was mainly due to tough opposition and adjusting to the new league following promotion. Six of those nine losses were against top-seven sides, with the other losses coming to mid-table Gijon and Cadiz. However, they have since turned things around. In their last seven away games, they are unbeaten, the run starting with a draw against Levante, followed by five consecutive away wins, and most recently a draw against Deportivo on a quick turnaround.

Crucially, Cordoba have no players away on international duty and will have the same squad available to select from that they did last game, barring Casas. Meanwhile, Zaragoza’s squad looks severely weakened with multiple absences. Given Cordoba’s improved away form, Zaragoza’s poor run of results, and the significant squad issues facing Zaragoza, Cordoba +0.5 at odds of 1.88 looks to be a generous price.

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