Following on from the recent international break, Espanyol and Valencia will retrun to action and go head to head in the seventh round of La Liga fixtures on Sunday.
While the hosts currently sit just above the relegation zone with four points from their opening six matches, the visitors are five points better off in ninth place.
Espanyol head into the contest hoping to turn around their form after a slow start to the season, having picked up just four points from their opening six matches.
Diego Martinez’s side began with a draw and two defeats before putting their first three points on the board through a 1-0 victory away at Athletic Bilbao with a Martin Braithwaite 83rd-minute goal.
Hoping to build a positive run off the back of that away win, Espanyol they hosted Sevilla, and despite pulling back to 3-2 after initially trailing by three goals, they would ultimately fall just short before facing another tough test away at Real Sociedad prior to the recent break.
While neither of the two defeats were major cause of concern, Espanyol now only sit above the relegation zone on a goal difference.
They host a Valencia side who have endured a mixed start to the La Liga campaign under the new management of Gennaro Gattuso, with three wins and three defeats on their record so far.
An opening-day win over Girona was followed by successive defeats to Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid, before they bounced back in impressive style with a 5-1 victory over Getafe.
That was followed by a disappointing defeat for Los Che at the hands of Rayo Vallecano, leaving them on an underwhelming tally of six points from five matches heading into their final game before the international break, a home game against Celta Vigo, which eventually ended in a 3-0 victory.
Espanyol vs Valencia head to head
These two teams have previously met on 56 occasions across two competitions, where Espanyol have claimed 20 victories while Valencia have won 25, and they have drawn in 11. Valencia have scored 77 goals and conceded 76. In their last five meetings, Valencia have won two, Espanyol one with two draws.
Valencia 0-0 Espanyol 17/02/19
Espanyol 1-2 Valencia 02/11/19
Valencia 1-0 Espanyol 16/07/20
Valencia 1-2 Espanyol 31/12/21
Espanyol 1-1 Valencia 14/05/22
Espanyol latest home form
Espanyol have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having won just one of their six most recent matches. They were beaten 3-2 by Sevilla in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored five goals and conceded nine.
Espanyol 2-0 Lille 24/07/22
Espanyol 0-1 Linense 28/07/22
Espanyol 0-2 Rayo Vallecano 19/08/22
Espanyol 1-3 Real Madrid 28/08/22
Espanyol 2-3 Sevilla 10/09/22
Espanyol latest away form
Espanyol have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having won just one of their 10 most recent matches. They lost 2-1 to Real Sociedad in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored five goals and conceded nine.
Brighton & Hove Albion 5-1 Espanyol 30/07/22
Napoli 0-0 Espanyol 06/08/22
Celta Vigo 2-2 Espanyol 13/08/22
Athletic Bilbao 0-1 Espanyol 04/09/22
Real Sociedad 2-1 Espanyol 18/09/22
Valencia latest home form
Valencia have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, having lost just one of their six most recent matches. They defeated Celta Vigo 3-0 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 11goals and conceded just three.
Valencia 2-1 Atalanta 06/08/22
Valencia 1-0 Girona 14/08/22
Valencia 0-1 Atletico Madrid 29/08/22
Valencia 5-1 Getafe 04/09/22
Valencia 3-0 Celta Vigo 17/09/22
Valencia latest away form
Valencia have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having lost four of their five most recent matches. They lost 2-1 to Rayo Vallecano in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored four goals and conceded 10.
Stuttgart 5-2 Valencia 23/07/22
Nottingham Forest 1-1 Valencia 30/07/22
Castellon 1-0 Valencia 03/08/22
Athletic Bilbao 1-0 Valencia 21/08/22
Rayo Vallecano 2-1 Valencia 10/09/22
Espanyol news
Espanyol will be without Adria Pedrosa through injury, while Jose Carlos Lazo and Keidi Bare are doubts due to issues of their own.
However, Oscar Gil should return from his layoff, and he should contest with Omar El Hilali for the right-wing back spot, with Leandro Cabrera, Sergi Gomez and Fernando Calero the back three.
Valencia news
Valencia’s only injury doubt could be Yunus Musah, who missed the Celta Vigo game after starting in each of the first five matches of the season.
In his absence, Andre Almeida could again join Ilaix Moriba and Hugo Guillamon in the midfield, with Gabriel Paulista likely to come into the middle of the defence.
Prediction and Odds
Espanyol’s front two have the capability to cause their visitors problems, and they will feel confident of bouncing back to winning ways now that they play on home turf.
However, given their struggles so far this season, we are backing Valencia to just edge out their hosts and come away victorious.
Odds: 1 2.32 X 2.02 2 2.20
Probable outcomes
Espanyol 0-1 Valencia
Espanyol 0-2 Valencia
Espanyol 1-2 Valencia
Espanyol 1-3 Valencia
Espanyol 1-1 Valencia
