Espanyol will be looking to boost their La Liga survival hopes when they resume their 2019-20 campaign with a home game against Alaves on Saturday afternoon.
The Catalan outfit are currently rock bottom of the table on 20 points, six points from the safety of 17th position, while Alaves occupy 14th spot ahead of their return to action.
Match preview
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There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a tough campaign for Espanyol, who are facing the real threat of being relegated to the second tier for the 2020-21 season.
The Catalan outfit have not played outside of Spain's top flight since the 1993-94 campaign, while they finished seventh in La Liga last term, picking up an impressive 53 points in the process.
Espanyol have only collected 20 points from their 27 matches thus far, though, and as mentioned, sit six points behind 17th-placed Celta Vigo ahead of the league's restart.
Abelardo Fernandez's side still have enough time to escape the bottom three, however, and a win this weekend would be a huge boost ahead of their next game away to Getafe on June 16.
Espanyol recorded a 2-1 victory over Alaves in the corresponding match during the 2018-19 campaign, although the pair played out a goalless draw when they locked horns earlier this season.
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Alaves, meanwhile, have established themselves as a La Liga side over the last three years, finishing ninth, 14th and 11th since earning promotion back to the top flight.
The Basque outfit have enjoyed another productive season to date, picking up 32 points from their 27 matches to sit 14th, seven points clear of the relegation zone at this stage.
It is difficult to say that they are out of the relegation picture due to the circumstances surrounding the restart, although it would be a surprise to see them dragged into trouble.
Alaves have only lost one of their last six in La Liga, meanwhile, and picked up five points from their three games against Athletic Bilbao, Leganes and Valencia before the campaign was halted back in March.
Espanyol La Liga form: LWDLDL
Alaves La Liga form: DWLWDD
Team News
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Espanyol will be without the services of their number one goalkeeper on Saturday, with Diego Lopez picking up a red card during the 1-0 defeat to Osasuna back in March. As a result, Andres Prieto is expected to start between the sticks.
Sebastien Corchia is also out with a knee injury, but key midfielder Marc Roca has recovered from the problem that kept him out before the lockdown period.
There are not expected to be many surprises in the home side's XI this weekend, with Wu Lei and Raul de Tomas likely to line up as the front two in a 4-4-2 formation once again.
Alaves, meanwhile, will be without Joselu through suspension due to the yellow card that the striker picked up in the 1-1 draw with Valencia last time out.
Asier Garitano's side will have Aleix Vidal back from a ban, though, while Rafa Navarro should also be available following a spell on the sidelines.
Lucas Perez has scored 11 La Liga goals during a productive season and will lead the away side's line, while Joselu's absence could open the door for Pere Pons to start in a forward area.
Espanyol possible starting lineup:
Prieto; J Lopez, Espinosa, Cabrera, Vila; Roca, D Lopez, V Sanchez, Darder; Wu Lei, De Tomas
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Pacheco; Vidal, Laguardia, Ely, Duarte; Rioja, Camarasa, Fejsa, Mendez; Perez, Pons
We say: Espanyol 1-1 Alaves
The two teams are well-matched on paper, and both will enter the match feeling that they can pick up all three points. We are struggling to separate them, though, have therefore backed a low-scoring 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 51.05%. A draw had a probability of 26.9% and a win for Alaves had a probability of 22.05%.
The most likely scoreline for a Espanyol win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.68%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.55%) and 2-1 (8.91%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.38%), while for an Alaves win it was 0-1 (8.61%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 10.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Espanyol would win this match.
