Espanyol will be looking to continue their positive run of form in Spain's top flight when they welcome Levante to the RCDE Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Catalan side have boosted their La Liga survival hopes by picking up four points from their last two matches, while Levante have collected two points from their last two fixtures.
Match preview
© Reuters
Espanyol have not played outside of Spain's top flight since the 1993-94 campaign, while they finished seventh in La Liga last term, which is an indication of their standing at this level of football.
The Catalan outfit are facing the real threat of being relegated to the second tier for the 2020-21 season, although their form since returning to action earlier this month has been impressive.
Indeed, a 2-0 win over Alaves on June 13 was followed by a goalless draw at Getafe on Tuesday night, which has helped them move off the bottom of the table into 19th position.
Abelardo Fernandez's side are still in the relegation zone but are only three points off 17th-placed Celta Vigo and have more than enough time to move clear of the bottom three in the coming weeks.
Espanyol actually beat Levante in the reverse match earlier this season, while they recorded a 1-0 victory when the pair last locked horns at the RCDE Stadium in September 2018.
© Reuters
Levante have finished 15th in each of their last two seasons in Spain's top flight, having secured a return back to this level by winning the Segunda Division in 2016-17.
The Valencia-based outfit have enjoyed a solid campaign thus far, picking up 35 points from their 29 matches to sit 12th in the table, just four points off the top half of the division.
Paco Lopez's side have actually only lost one of their last five in the league, although they have recorded just one victory during that run, drawing their last three against Granada, Valencia and Sevilla.
No team in the bottom half of the table as won more La Liga matches than Levante (10) this term, although 14 defeats have cost them the chance to be higher up at this stage of the campaign.
Espanyol La Liga form: DLDLWD
Espanyol form (all competitions): LWDLWD
Levante La Liga form: LWLDDD
Team News
© Reuters
Espanyol will be without the services of Bernardo Espinosa due to the red card that the defender picked up against Getafe, while Raul de Tomas and Sebastien Corchia are both still injured.
The hosts will hope that Naldo can overcome an injury problem of his own to replace Espinosa at the back, but there are not expected to be many other changes from the side that started last time out.
Indeed, Wu Lei and Jonathan Calleri should continue as the front two, with Marc Roca, who continues to be linked with a summer exit, lining up in midfield.
Levante, meanwhile, will be without Ruben Rochina through suspension due to the yellow card that the attacker picked up against Sevilla, but centre-forward Roger Marti is back from a ban of his own.
Ivan Lopez is still struggling through injury, but the visitors otherwise have a full complement of players heading into this weekend's contest at the RCDE Stadium.
Marti could replace Borja Mayoral in the final third of the field, while Enis Bardhi is expected to take Rochina's spot in a wide position.
Espanyol possible starting lineup:
Diego Lopez; Avila, Cabrera, Naldo, Vila; Embarba, David Lopez, Roca, Darder; Wu Lei, Calleri
Levante possible starting lineup:
Aitor; Coke, Bruno, Vezo, Tono; Bardhi, Melero, Vukcevic, Campana; Marti, Morales
We say: Espanyol 0-0 Levante
Levante have proved difficult to beat in their recent matches, while Espanyol have drawn four of their last six home league fixtures in Spain's top flight; we are finding it difficult to separate the two teams on Saturday afternoon and have therefore backed a goalless draw.
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Espanyol win with a probability of 57.06%. A draw had a probability of 23.7% and a win for Levante had a probability of 19.21%.
The most likely scoreline for a Espanyol win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.69%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.91%) and 2-1 (9.68%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.25%), while for a Levante win it was 0-1 (6.55%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 1.5% likelihood.
