Espanyol will be aiming to make it three straight wins in La Liga when they continue their campaign with a home fixture against Getafe on Friday night.
The Catalan outfit, who are 15th in the La Liga table, will enter the match off the back of a 2-0 victory over Celta Vigo, while 11th-placed Getafe were beaten 3-1 at home by Las Palmas last time out.
Match preview
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Espanyol have eased their relegation fears with an excellent run after the March international break, picking up seven points from their last three matches, including wins in their last two against Rayo Vallecano and Celta Vigo.
Manolo Gonzalez's side held Atletico Madrid to a 1-1 draw at the end of last month before scoring six unanswered goals against Rayo and Celta, which has allowed them to move six points clear of the relegation zone, with the team now up in 15th.
The Catalan club are only three points behind 12th-placed Osasuna and should be looking up the division rather than down, but any spot over 18th would be considered a success in their first campaign back at this level, having been promoted to the top flight through the 2023-24 Segunda Division playoffs.
Espanyol have won three of their last four league games against Getafe, including a 1-0 success in the corresponding game between the two sides during the 2023-24 campaign.
However, it was 1-0 to Getafe in Madrid earlier this season, with Alvaro Rodriguez netting the only goal of the contest in the eighth minute to secure all three points.
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Getafe, meanwhile, will enter the match off the back of a 3-1 home defeat to Las Palmas, which made it two losses in their last three games, having also been beaten at home by Villarreal at the end of March.
Jose Bordalas's side have a record of 10 wins, nine draws and 12 defeats from their 31 league matches this season, which has seen them collect 39 points to sit 11th in the table, four points above their opponents in this match.
The Madrid team have been excellent defensively this season, only conceding 28 times in their 31 games, which is the third-best defensive record behind Atletico Madrid (26) and Athletic Bilbao (25).
Getafe are among the lowest goalscorers in the division, but they did net four times in their last away game against Real Valladolid on April 6, and their recent form on their travels has been impressive.
Indeed, the Deep Blue Ones have incredibly won six of their last seven league games on their travels, with that run including a standout 3-0 success over Real Sociedad earlier this year.
Team News
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Espanyol will be missing Jose Gragera and Brian Olivan on Saturday through injury, while Javi Puado will miss the match due to the milestone yellow card that he picked up against Celta last time out.
Due to the nature of the performance, it is expected that the majority of the players that started against Celta will keep hold of their roles in the XI here, with the only change likely to be Alex Kral for Puado in a wide area.
Roberto Fernandez has scored five times in 11 appearances for Espanyol since arriving on loan from Braga in January, and there will again be a spot in the final third of the field for the 22-year-old, who struck a brace last time out.
As for Getafe, Diego Rico will miss the match due to the red card that he received in the home loss to Las Palmas last time out.
The capital outfit do not have any fitness issues ahead of the contest, but there will be changes from the side that started the team's last match, with Djene Dakonam, Borja Mayoral and Coba potentially being introduced.
Dakonam is likely to come into the team at right-back, which would see Juan Iglesias switch across to the left, while Juan Bernat and Juanmi may drop out to allow Coba and Mayoral to make the starting side.
Espanyol possible starting lineup:
J Garcia; El Hilali, Kumbulla, Cabrera, Romero; Gonzalez, Lozano; Roca, Exposito, Kral; Fernandez
Getafe possible starting lineup:
Soria; Dakonam, Duarte, Alderete, Iglesias; Terrats, Milla, Arambarri, Coba; Mayoral, Uche
We say: Espanyol 1-1 Getafe
Getafe's away form deserves serious respect, and it would not be a surprise to see the visitors triumph on Friday; Espanyol are in a good place at the moment, though, and we are expecting the Catalan team to be good enough for at least a point.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
