Leganes‘ battle to move out of the La Liga relegation zone will continue on Sunday afternoon, when they welcome Espanyol to Estadio Municipal de Butarque.
The home side are currently 19th in the La Liga table, four points from the safety of 17th spot, while Espanyol are 14th, seven points outside of the relegation zone heading into the final straight.
Match preview
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Leganes are locked in a relegation fight heading towards the final exchanges, with Borja Jimenez‘s side occupying 19th spot in the table, boasting a record of six wins, 13 draws and 15 defeats from 34 matches this season to collect 31 points.
El Lega are four points behind 17th-placed Alaves, so it is a tall order for them to escape the bottom three at this stage, but it is far from impossible, and a victory this weekend would be a huge step in the right direction.
The reigning Segunda Division champions will enter the match off the back of a 2-2 draw with Sevilla, and they have only actually lost one of their last five league matches, which came at home to the division leaders Barcelona on April 12.
Leganes have not triumphed during that time, though, sharing the points on four occasions, with their last victory proving to be a 1-0 home success over Getafe at the start of March.
Jimenez’s team drew 1-1 with Espanyol in the reverse game earlier this season, but Leganes have actually been victorious in two of their last three top-flight fixtures with their opponents on Sunday afternoon.
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Espanyol’s last away success over Leganes in Spain’s top flight came six years ago, and their Segunda Division clash at Estadio Municipal de Butarque during the 2023-24 campaign ended in a goalless draw.
Manolo Gonzalez‘s side will enter this match off the back of successive defeats to Villarreal and Real Betis, and those two results have left them still slightly in the relegation picture heading towards the end of the campaign.
Espanyol’s next match after this one is at home to Barcelona, and they will not want to be in a position heading into their final two league games of the season where points are potentially required to ensure their safety.
A total of 39 points from 34 matches has left them in 14th spot in the table, seven points clear of 18th-placed Las Palmas, while they are only actually five points off a European position in Spain’s top flight.
Espanyol have claimed seven points from their last four away league fixtures, including wins over Rayo Vallecano and Celta Vigo, and their form in 2025 has largely been strong after a difficult first half of the campaign.
Team News
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Leganes will welcome Adria Alti and Seydouba Cisse back into their starting side on Sunday, with the pair available for selection after serving suspensions in the clash with Sevilla last time out.
However, Javi Hernandez is now out of the match due to a ban, while Enric Franquesa, Valentin Rosier and Borna Barisic are all currently on the sidelines through injury.
Munir El Haddadi should shake off the injury issue that he suffered late on against Sevilla, while there is expected to be a position in the defence for Matija Nastasic due to the absence of Hernandez.
As for Espanyol, Omar El Hilali will miss out through suspension, with the defender picking up a milestone yellow card in the team’s defeat to Real Betis last time out.
Pol Lozano, Brian Olivan and Jose Gragera will also miss the game due to injury problems, with the former forced off at the interval of the contest with Champions League hopefuls Real Betis.
Alvaro Tejero and Alex Kral are both in line to come into the side on Sunday, while there will again be starts in the final third of the field for Javi Puado and Roberto Fernandez, who have scored 17 goals between them in La Liga this term.
Leganes possible starting lineup:
Dmitrovic; Alti, Saenz, Gonzalez, Nastasic; Cruz, Tapia, Cisse, Diomande; El Haddadi, Raba
Espanyol possible starting lineup:
J Garcia; Tejero, Kumbulla, Cabrera, Romero; Gonzalez, Kral; Roca, Exposito, Puado; R Fernandez
We say: Leganes 1-1 Espanyol
Leganes have been the draw specialists in recent weeks, and we can see the points again being shared on Sunday; Leganes need a win, but Espanyol have improved as the season has progressed, so they should be good enough for a point.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
