Preview: Espanyol vs. Girona - prediction, team news, lineups

The home side are currently 16th in the table, boasting 13 points from their opening 15 matches, while a strong start to the campaign has left Girona up in 12th position on 17 points.

Match preview

Espanyol have been in strong form since returning to action following the 2022 World Cup, winning twice in the Copa del Rey, including a 3-1 success over Celta Vigo on Tuesday to progress to the round of 16.

Diego Martinez's side also claimed a point against Catalan rivals Barcelona at Camp Nou in La Liga last weekend, with Joselu cancelling out an opener from Marcos Alonso in what proved to be a 1-1 draw.

The White and Blues have now drawn four of their last five league matches, while they have only been victorious on one occasion in Spain's top flight since the start of September, with the indifferent form leaving them in 16th position in the table, just one point outside of the relegation zone.

Espanyol finished 14th in La Liga last season on their return to this level, and they will now be looking to consolidate following their shock relegation at the end of 2019-20.

Periquitos lost both games against Girona during the 2020-21 Segunda Division campaign, but they beat their Catalan rivals 2-1 in the last La Liga contest between the two sides in April 2019.

Girona advanced through the Segunda Division playoffs last season to secure a return to this level, with the team back in La Liga for the first time since finishing 18th in 2018-19.

Any spot over 18th would go down as a successful campaign for the club, and there have been plenty of encouraging signs this season, with a total of 17 points from 15 matches leaving them in 12th position.

The White and Reds have won four, drawn five and lost six of their 15 league games this term, and they will enter this match off the back of a 2-2 draw with Rayo Vallecano on December 29.

Girona were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Cacereno on December 22, so the team only have La Liga football to worry about for the rest of the season, which should boost their hopes of staying in the league.

Michel's side are actually unbeaten in their last five league matches, which is a run that includes wins over Athletic Bilbao and Girona in their last two games ahead of the break for the 2022 World Cup.

Espanyol La Liga form:

L

D

D

D

L

D

Espanyol form (all competitions):

D

D

L

W

D

W

Girona La Liga form:

L

D

D

W

W

D

Girona form (all competitions):

D

W

W

L

L

D

Team News

Espanyol will be missing both Vinicius Souza and Dani Gomez through suspension, while Keidi Bare and Adria Pedrosa are expected to miss out due to injuries.

Edu Exposito is likely to replace Souza in the middle of midfield, but it could otherwise be the same side that was selected for the draw with Barcelona.

The home side will have to make a late check on Sergi Darder, though, as the midfielder was replaced in the latter states of extra-time against Celta on Tuesday despite entering as a substitute.

Girona, meanwhile, will be missing Oriol Romeu through suspension due to the yellow card that the midfielder picked up in the 2-2 draw with Rayo last time out.

Javi Hernandez, Juanpe, Reinier, Bernardo Espinosa and Ibrahima Kebe are also expected to miss the match for the visitors due to fitness problems.

The team is expected to be similar to the one that took to the field for the first whistle against Rayo, with potentially the only alteration being Yangel Herrera for Romeu.

Espanyol possible starting lineup:

Fernandez; Gil, Gomez, Cabrera, Olivan; Exposito, Calero; Melamed, Darder, Braithwaite; Joselu

Girona possible starting lineup:

Gazzaniga; Martinez, Bueno, D Lopez, Gutierrez; Couto, Martin, Herrera, A Garcia, Riquelme; Castellanos

We say: Espanyol 1-1 Girona

Girona are unbeaten in their last five in Spain's top flight, and they will be the fresher of the two sides, having not been in Copa del Rey action during the week. Espanyol will have taken a lot of confidence from their draw with Barcelona, though, so we are predicting a draw on Saturday night.

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