Espanyol will look to stave off relegation when they welcome Las Palmas to the RCDE Stadium for their crucial final game of the 2024-25 season.
The hosts head into Saturday’s fixture with a two-point buffer to the drop zone, while the visitors have already been relegated and will finish the season in 19th spot.
Match preview
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Espanyol may be coming to terms with the fact that they are still fighting for their survival despite collecting 39 points from 32 matches to put them seven points clear of the bottom three with six games to play.
However, they have ultimately failed to add to their tally since they drew with Valencia on April 22, going on to lose five consecutive matches, including defeats to Villarreal, Real Betis and relegation rivals Leganes.
They then fell to a 2-0 loss against Barcelona in a game that clinched their local rivals the league title, before they suffered the same scoreline in Sunday’s away meeting with Osasuna, leaving them in 17th place and two points above Leganes with a game to play.
Like Los Pepineros, Manolo Gonzalez‘s side are looking to avoid an immediate return to the second tier, and they know that they will preserve their top-flight status if they can match Leganes’ result from the game against Real Valladolid.
However, Los Periquitos know they will have to pick up all three points if Leganes beat La Liga’s basement because even a draw would not be enough in that scenario, with Los Pepineros boasting the head-to-head advantage following the 3-2 scoreline at Butarque earlier this month.
Espanyol will take comfort from the fact that they have won five of their last six competitive home meetings with Las Palmas, including a dominant 4-0 in the second tier in April 2021.
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Las Palmas already know that their season in La Liga will come to an end following Sunday’s trip to the RCDE Stadium.
The team from Gran Canaria are languishing in 19th spot and seven points adrift of Espanyol after winning eight, drawing eight and losing 21 of their 37 league matches this season.
They boosted their survival hopes with back-to-back wins over Getafe and Atletico Madrid, only to experience a costly drop-off in form, losing to Athletic Bilbao, Valencia, Rayo Vallecano and Sevilla.
The narrow 1-0 defeat to Sevilla earlier this month, combined with Alaves’ victory over Valencia, condemned Las Palmas to the second tier with two games left to play.
Diego Martinez‘s side experienced more disappointment on Sunday, as they fell to their fourth 1-0 defeat in five games in their home meeting with Leganes, ensuring they will end the season with the second-worst home record in the division.
Meanwhile, Saturday’s visitors have only won one of their previous 10 La Liga away matches (D3, L3), which may temper their hopes of claiming their first away win over Espanyol since recording a 2-1 victory in November 1987, although they did at least pick up a 1-0 home win in Decemeber’s reverse fixture.
Team News
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Espanyol remain without the injured Brian Olivan, while Marash Kumbulla is suspended for an accumulation of yellow cards.
Leandro Cabrera is set to take Kumbulla’s place in the backline, having completed a one-match ban following his red card in the defeat to Barcelona.
Jofre is pushing to make a return on the right flank after having to settle for substitute appearances in the last two matches.
As for the visitors, they remain without their captain Kirian Rodriguez, who is undergoing treatment after announcing a cancer relapse in February.
Fabio Silva is still sidelined with an adductor problem, while Stefan Bajcetic is set to miss a second straight game through injury.
Midfielder Jose Campana will serve a one-match ban after picking up his fifth yellow card of the league season last weekend.
Espanyol possible starting lineup:
Garcia; El Hilali, Cabrera, Calero, Romero; Gonzalez, Lozano; Jofre, Exposito, Puado; Fernandez
Las Palmas possible starting lineup:
Horkas; Rozada, Herzog, McKenna, Marmol; Park, Loiodice, Essugo, Moleiro; Fuster, McBurnie
We say: Espanyol 1-1 Las Palmas
There will be plenty of nerves in the Espanyol camp after losing each of their last five matches, and we think that may hamper their performance on Saturday, which is why we believe they may be held to a point by a Las Palmas side that have lost just one of their last five head-to-head meetings.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
