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Almeria begin their 2021-22 Segunda Division campaign with a short trip to Murcia to take on FC Cartagena at the Estadio Cartanagova on Monday night.
The Andalusian visitors finished fourth in the table last year and subsequently went on to lose to Girona in the promotion playoff semifinals. Cartagena, meanwhile, finished three points ahead of relegated Sabadell in 16th position.
The Efese have had a tough pre-season with just two wins - over Al Raed (2-0) and Real Murcia (2-0).
Cartagena managed four draws against Al Wahda (0-0), Al Nasr (1-1), Tenerife (1-1) and Elche (1-1). Mallorca (0-1), while Valencia (2-3) defeated the Andalusian side. However, that result was to be expected given they were La Liga opposition.
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Almeria have had a stellar pre-season, with five wins and a single loss to Benfica (1-2). They followed that up with wins over lower league opposition Club Atletico Pulpileno (4-0) and Aguilas FC (1-0).
Wins over La Liga opposition followed with 2-1 victories over Cadiz and Real Betis, before closing out pre-season with a 1-0 win over Betis' B side.
FC Cartagena vs Almeria Head-To-Head
Cartegena and Almeria each had a solitary win in the last six games between the two teams, with four draws. The pair played out a 1-1 draw last season before Cartagena won 3-2 at home in May.
Almeria's last win away to Cartagena came in 2011; a 2-1 victory in a pre-season friendly.
FC Cartagena Form Guide in Pre-season: W-D-D-D-L
Almeria Form Guide in Pre-season: W-W-W-W-W
FC Cartagena vs Almeria Team News
FC Cartagena
Luis Carrion has seen heavy transfer activity from his club, with eight arrivals and 12 departures, most on free transfers. Chief among the big-name acquisitions was Pedro Alcala, who featured for top-flight Cadiz last season.
Fellow new signing Pablo Vazquez underwent surgery in mid-July, with the centre-back now unavailable for 4-6 weeks, thus missing the start of the season.
Injured: Pablo Vazquez
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Almeria
Almeria boss Robi has seen nine departures from the club, with only six incoming transfers, most notably Francisco Portillo from Getafe, Samu Costa from Braga and Sergio Akieme from Barca B coming in for a combined €8.75 million.
Rubi has a fully fit squad to choose from and has mixed-and-matched his lineups in pre-season.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
FC Cartagena vs Almeria Predicted XI
FC Cartagena Predicted XI (4-3-3): Marc Martinez (GK); Julian Delmas, David Andujar, Pedro Alcala, Antonio Luna; Yann Bodiger, Sergio Tejera, Richard Boateng; Nacho Gil, Ruben Castro, Berto Cayarga.
Almeria Predicted XI (4-3-3): Giorgi Makaridze (GK); Aitor Bunuel, Juan Ibiza, Nikola Maras, Sergio Akieme; Samu Costa, Cesar de la Hoz, Lucas Robertone; Francisco Portillo, Sadiq Umar, Jose Carlos Lazo.
FC Cartagena vs Almeria Prediction
Almeria have been in superb form this pre-season, with Sadiq and Portillo dovetailing well. However, veteran striker Ruben Castro is always a threat and Cartagena ought to find the net as well.
We expect a tough contest for Almeria, who will eventually walk away with victory by a narrow margin.
Prediction: FC Cartagena 1-2 Almeria
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