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

The home side will enter the contest off the back of a 1-0 win over Elche, while Mallorca recorded a 4-2 victory over Villarreal in their last league match.

Match preview

Espanyol appeared to be heading for a goalless draw against the league's basement side Elche last time out, but Sergi Darder came up with a 92nd-minute winner for Diego Martinez's side.

The White and Blues have picked up 24 points from their 22 league matches this season, which has left them in 13th position in the table, just two points clear of the relegation zone heading into the next set of games.

There are only actually three points between 12th-placed Sevilla and Cadiz in 18th, which is an indication of how quickly things could change, and Espanyol are in a relegation fight at this stage of the campaign.

Martinez's team have only lost two of their last eight in the league, but they have the second-worst home record in Spain's top flight this season, only picking up 10 points from 11 matches.

Espanyol were 1-0 winners over Mallorca when the two teams locked horns for the corresponding game last season, but the points were shared in a 1-1 draw when they met for the reverse match this term in October.

Mallorca will enter this weekend's contest off the back of a 4-2 win over Villarreal last Saturday, with Dani Rodriguez scoring twice for the home side at Visit Mallorca Estadi.

Villarreal twice came from behind to level the scores at 2-2 early in the second period, but Rodriguez's second sent Mallorca into a 3-2 lead before Vedat Muriqi netted a fourth just past the hour.

Javier Aguirre's side have now won three of their last five league games, while they have been victorious in each of their last five La Liga fixtures in front of their own supporters.

Mallorca's away form has been disappointing, though, losing each of their last four on their travels without scoring, which will be a concern heading into this weekend's contest.

The Pirates are enjoying an impressive campaign, picking up 31 points from 22 matches, which has left them in eighth position in the table, just three points behind sixth-placed Rayo Vallecano.

Mallorca finished eighth in 2011-12 and fifth in 2009-10, and it appears that they could enjoy a similar campaign this time around if some consistency can be found over the next few weeks.

Espanyol La Liga form:

W

W

L

D

L

W

Espanyol form (all competitions):

L

W

L

D

L

W

Mallorca La Liga form:

L

W

L

W

L

W

Mallorca form (all competitions):

L

W

L

W

L

W

Team News

Espanyol will have Leandro Cabrera back from suspension for this match, but Fernando Calero, Cesar Montes, Joselu, Adria Pedrosa and Keidi Bare remain on the sidelines through injury.

Joselu's absence is a big one considering that the experienced forward has scored 11 league goals this season.

A 3-5-2 formation is again likely to see Javi Puado feature alongside Martin Braithwaite in the final third of the field, with Denis Suarez and Darder joining Vinicius Souza in the middle of midfield.

Mallorca, meanwhile, are expected to have a fully-fit squad for this match, so it would not be a surprise to see the same XI that took to the field for the first whistle against Villarreal.

Muriqi will again lead the line, with Lee Kang-in and Tinotenda Kadewere set to feature in the wide positions, and Rodriguez playing in a central position for Aguirre's side.

There are plenty of options for change in the shape of Angel, Abdon Prats and Rodrigo Battaglia, but Aguirre is unlikely to moving away from a winning side.

Espanyol possible starting lineup:

Pacheco; Gomez, Cabrera, Olivan; R Sanchez, Darder, Vinicius, Suarez, Gil; Braithwaite, Puado

Mallorca possible starting lineup:

Rajkovic; Maffeo, Gonzalez, Raillo, Copete, Costa; Kadewere, D Rodriguez, Ruiz de Galarreta, Kang-in; Muriqi

We say: Espanyol 1-1 Mallorca

Mallorca's away form in recent weeks has been very disappointing, but Espanyol have the second-worst record in front of their own fans this season. Both sides will enter this match off the back of a win, but we are struggling to separate them and have therefore had to settle on a low-scoring draw.

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