Espanyol will be looking for a win that can help them move further away from the La Liga relegation zone when they welcome Elche to the RCDE Stadium on Sunday.
While the hosts fell to a narrow defeat at Osasuna on Thursday, their hosts saw their winless run extend to 10 matches after a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid.
Diego Martinez has endured a slightly underwhelming start at Espanyol since the promising young manager joined Los Pericos at the start of the 2022-23 campaign.
Certainly not helped by the departure of striker Raul de Tomas in September, the new manager has struggled to find consistency in Cornella, having recorded just two wins and three draws in his opening 10 league matches.
However, with a 1-0 victory over Real Valladolid last weekend, Espanyol finally managed to pick up their first home win since April, as a Joselu header saw them end an increasingly worrying run.
Nevertheless, Martinez’s side were unable to follow that victory up, as they squandered three big chances in a 1-0 defeat to Osasuna at El Sadar on Thursday.
Meanwhile, having conceded 24 goals in La Liga so far this season, just three sides across Europe’s top five leagues have been hit harder than Elche.
Elche have already changed managers, welcoming back former coach Jorge Almiron after sacking of Francisco earlier on this season, but they remain the only team in the Spanish top flight without a win to their name after the first 10 matches of the campaign.
Los Franjiverdes came restlessly close at Valencia last weekend, as a controversially disallowed goal denied them all three point in a 2-2 stalemate, but Almiron’s side were comprehensively beaten on Wednesday night, as a rampant Real Madrid claimed a 3-0 victory at the Estadio Martinez Valero.
Espanyol vs Elche head to head
These two teams have previously met on six occasions in La Liga, where Espanyol have claimed one victory while Elche have won three, and they have drawn in two. Elche have scored 10 goals and conceded nine. In their last league meeting, Elche claimed a 2-1 away win on January 10.
Espanyol 3-1 Elche 09/03/14
Elche 2-1 Espanyol 02/11/14
Espanyol 1-1 Elche 06/04/15
Elche 2-2 Espanyol 23/10/21
Espanyol 1-2 Elche 10/01/22
Espanyol latest home form
Espanyol have recently seemed to be on an upturn in form at home, having been unbeaten in their two most recent matches. They managed to defeat Real Valladolid 1-0 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored six goals and conceded 10.
Espanyol 0-2 Rayo Vallecano 19/08/22
Espanyol 1-3 Real Madrid 28/08/22
Espanyol 2-3 Sevilla 10/09/22
Espanyol 2-2 Valencia 02/10/22
Espanyol 1-0 Real Valladolid 16/10/22
Espanyol latest away form
Espanyol have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having won just one of their 12 most recent matches. They lost 1-0 to Osasuna in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored six goals and conceded seven.
Celta Vigo 2-2 Espanyol 13/08/22
Athletic Bilbao 0-1 Espanyol 04/09/22
Real Sociedad 2-1 Espanyol 18/09/22
Cadiz 2-2 Espanyol 09/10/22
Osasuna 1-0 Espanyol 20/10/22
Elche latest home form
Elche have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having been winless in their six most recent matches. They were beaten 3-0 by Real Madrid in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored three goals and conceded 10.
Elche 1-1 Almeria 22/08/22
Elche 0-1 Real Sociedad 27/08/22
Elche 1-4 Athletic Bilbao 11/09/22
Elche 1-1 Mallorca 10/10/22
Elche 0-3 Real Madrid 19/10/22
Elche latest away form
Elche have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having been winless in their five most recent matches. They drew 2-2 with Valencia in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored just three goals and conceded 14.
Real Betis 3-0 Elche 15/08/22
Villarreal 4-0 Elche 04/09/22
Barcelona 3-0 Elche 17/09/22
Rayo Vallecano 2-1 Elche 03/10/22
Valencia 2-2 Elche 15/10/22
Espanyol news
Espanyol will remain without full-backs Ruben Sanchez and Adria Pedrosa on Sunday, although both players are said to be nearing fitness.
Martin Braithwaite returned to the starting XI in the defeat to Osasuna, and will be one of the main threats, alongside the creative Sergi Darder and the clinical Joselu.
Elche news
Former Newcastle United defender Federico Fernandez will miss out for the visitors, leaving Almiron with a healthy squad to choose from.
Star striker Lucas Boye will start up front after an ecouraging performance against Real Madrid, and he will be joined by Pere Milla, who scored a brace in this fixture last season.
Prediction and Odds
Espanyol are the better side according to the league standings, but Elche have won more matches in this fixture, which makes this one a cagey affair.
The situation is becoming increasingly urgent for the visitors as they quickly need a victory to avoid relegation battle, and we back them to grind out a result here.
Odds: 1 2.62 X 2.05 2 2.20
Probable outcomes
Espanyol 0-0 Elche
Espanyol 1-1 Elche
Espanyol 2-2 Elche
Espanyol 0-1 Elche
Espanyol 1-2 Elche
