MATCHDAY: Elche still chasing 1st win of season in Spain

A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Monday:

SPAIN

Last-place Elche will continue the quest to win its first Spanish league game of the season at second-to-last Cádiz. Elche enters the match with four points after the first 16 rounds. It has lost five in a row in the league and sits 11 points behind Cádiz, which has three wins, including in the last round at Valencia. Cádiz hadn't won since beating Atlético Madrid in October. Its only other win was at Valladolid in September.

ITALY

Sampdoria will be looking to inch closer to safety when it visits Empoli, which is wary of being dragged into a relegation fight. Sampdoria is seven points from safety and has lost five of its last six matches but did manage to win at fellow struggler Sassuolo in its first match of the new year. Empoli has yet to win in 2023 and that has left it 10 points above Sampdoria and the bottom three.

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