Almeria – Las Palmas : Preview & Prediction
UD Almeria continues to sink as bottom and the only club without a win in LaLiga EA Sports (LL) 2023-24 after conceding a manita in their visit to Girona (GIR 5-2 ALM), a team that was last promoted to Primera in 2021-22, just like the Indálica side. Unlike Girona, Almeria are struggling to establish themselves in the top flight, with serious defensive problems this season that they need to solve as soon as possible. In their next two league matches, Gaizka Garitano’s side will face UD las Palmas and Deportivo Alavés, two newly promoted sides that have exceeded expectations so far.
The challenge ahead of Garitano to get Almeria out of the hole is enormous. By points and goal difference, the Red-and-Whites have matched the seventh-worst record by a team in their first ten games of an LL campaign (E3, P7; -16). Although Garitano was praised by veteran striker Léo Baptistão, who highlighted the positive changes in training following the arrival of the Bilbao-born coach, Almería strung together four LL matches conceding three or more goals in their new coach’s debut.
Twelfth in the table going into this matchday, UD Las Palmas will be looking to extend the goal-scoring bl
ight on Almeria by scoring at least three goals for the first time this season before traveling to Mallorca to face CE Manacor in the Copa del Rey. One of the main candidates for relegation in the preseason, the yellow team has managed to climb to the middle of the standings with three wins in their last five games (G3, P2), the most recent being a narrow 1-0 defeat at home to Rayo Vallecano.
UDLP’s remarkable results against clubs they are ahead of in the standings after ten rounds (10/15 pts – G3, E1, P1), including a 2-1 win over Villarreal in their most recent outing. Former Azulgrana Xavi Garcia Pimienta is at the helm of a squad that is being very solid defensively – prior to Matchday 11, only Real Madrid (leaders) and Atletico Madrid have conceded fewer goals than UDLP (nine) – although they are having great difficulty scoring and are the lowest-scoring team in the current championship (six).
Players to watch: It has not been an easy year for central defender Chumi, who has 16 LL appearances in which his team has not kept a clean sheet. One man who could help extend that run is midfielder Javier Munoz, who has scored or assisted in four of his eight appearances against Almeria.
Standout Fact: Since the beginning of April 2023, 18 of UD Almeria’s 22 games played in LL have had more than 2.5 goals.
Almeria – Las Palmas : Betting Tips
Almeria – Win Odds:2.25
