Espanyol will be bidding to make it back-to-back wins in La Liga and climb out of the relegation zone when they continue their campaign with a clash against Sevilla at Estadio Ramon on Saturday evening.
The visitors, who are 18th in the La Liga table, will enter the contest off the back of a 2-1 success over Real Valladolid, while 11th-placed Sevilla recorded an impressive 2-1 victory over Girona in their last match.
Match preview
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Sevilla have a record of seven wins, five draws and eight defeats from their 20 La Liga matches this season, with 26 points leaving them in 11th spot in the division, only actually four points behind sixth-placed Mallorca.
Garcia Pimienta's side have quietly put together a decent run of form in La Liga, only losing one of their last four, securing seven points in the process, which has pushed them towards the top half of the division.
Los Nervionenses finished 14th in Spain's top flight last term, which proved to be their worst campaign since being relegated in 1999-2000, so there is plenty of room for improvement in 2024-25.
Sevilla will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 success over Girona, with Saul Niguez levelling the scores just before the hour, before Dodi Lukebakio came up with a late winner for the visitors.
Rojiblancos have been strong in front of their own fans this season, picking up 17 points from 10 matches, while they have only conceded nine times on home soil in La Liga during the 2024-25 campaign.
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Espanyol have not actually beaten Sevilla in La Liga since January 2017, while they have not been victorious away from home against Saturday's opponents since January 2011, which is an indication of the size of their task in this game.
Earlier this season, Sevilla were 2-0 winners in the reverse match, while the hosts recorded a 3-2 victory when the two teams last locked horns at Estadio Ramon towards the end of the 2022-23 La Liga season.
Espanyol will enter this match full of confidence, though, having beaten fellow strugglers Real Valladolid 2-1 last time out, with Roberto Fernandez netting the game's winning goal in the 74th minute.
The Catalan team are 18th in the La Liga table, picking up 19 points from their 20 matches this term, and they are now just one point behind 17th-placed Alaves and 16th-placed Getafe.
The White and Blues secured a return to La Liga through last season's Segunda Division playoffs, so simply staying in the division would be a huge positive this term, and they have now lost just one of their last five league fixtures.
Team News
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Sevilla will be without the services of Joan Jordan due to a muscular problem, while Kelechi Iheanacho, Tanguy Nianzou and Rafa Mir are all doubts for the contest at Estadio Ramon.
The hosts will also be missing two key players through suspension, with Isaac Romero and Adria Pedrosa both ruled out due to the milestone yellow cards that they were handed against Girona.
Kike Salas is expected to be the player to benefit at left-back, while Chidera Ejuke could play through the middle in the absence of Romero, as Garcia Pimienta's options in the final third of the field are limited.
As for Espanyol, Jose Gragera will miss out due to a thigh problem, while Salvi Sanchez remains a major doubt.
Head coach Manolo Gonzalez could select the same side that took to the field for the first whistle against Real Valladolid, with Antoniu Roca and Javi Puado likely to feature in the wide areas.
Puado has been Espanyol's main provider of goals during the 2024-25 campaign, scoring seven times in Spain's top flight, and the away team will be looking to the 26-year-old for inspiration on Saturday.
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Nyland; Carmona, Bade, Gudelj, Salas; Lokonga, Sow; Lukebakio, Saul, Vargas; Ejuke
Espanyol possible starting lineup:
J Garcia; El Hilali, Kumbulla, Cabrera, Olivan; Roca, Lozano, Kral, Puado; Tejero, Veliz
We say: Sevilla 2-1 Espanyol
This is a really tough match to call, as Sevilla will be missing some important players, and Espanyol have shown signs of improvement in recent weeks; it would not be a shock to see a draw, but we just have a feeling that Sevilla will be able to navigate their way to all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
