Espanyol will be looking to end a run of three matches without a win when they welcome Granada to the RCDE Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts became the first side in La Liga this season to be beaten by bottom-placed Getafe, meaning they now sit in 11th, three points above Granada in 14th.
Match preview
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After a scrappy affair at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez, two goals either side of the break from Enes Unal gave Getafe their first win of the campaign at the expense of a deflated Espanyol.
While being only the second loss that the Periquitos have suffered since mid-September, it did extend Espanyol's winless run to three matches in the league.
Having failed to win any of their opening five matches of the campaign, Vicente Moreno's side had experienced an up-turn in form, picking three victories in four matches between late September and mid-October.
Those results helped drag Espanyol away from the relegation zone as they attempt to secure a second consecutive season in La Liga.
Champions of the Segunda Division last year, relegation from the top flight in 2019-20 ended Espanyol's 26-season stay in Spain's top flight.
Another side with hopes of steering clear of the drop zone are Espanyol's opponents on Saturday, with Granada also having started the season in woeful form.
Granada went seven matches without tasting victory at the beginning of the campaign, finally triumphing at title-contenders Sevilla last month.
Since that victory, they have remained unbeaten and enter the tie against Espanyol on the back of a bumper victory over Levante last weekend.
Goals from German Sanchez, Luis Suarez and Antonio Puertas secured the win for Granada, with what was Robert Moreno's first away victory since taking charge at the beginning of the season.
The Spanish-born coach will be hoping that his side can record back-to-back wins for the first time since April, and the form book would suggest that they have a huge chance to do just that.
Granada have won the previous two league meetings between the pair, including a statement 3-0 victory away to Espanyol last season.
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Team News
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Having failed to set the world alight with their performances so far, it is tough to imagine where Espanyol would be without the goals of Raul de Tomas.
Having netted six times already this season, the forward had scored in four consecutive matches leading up to the Getafe defeat, where he was absent through suspension.
Having sat out one game of his three-match ban, the responsibility will likely lie with Landry Dimata to lead the line once more.
That will leave Oscar Gil as the only man missing for Espanyol through injury this weekend, with starts expected to come for Nico Melamed, Oscar Melendo and Manu Morlanes.
Meanwhile, Granada will be without a number of key players for the visit to Barcelona, with three regulars set to miss the game through injury.
Domingos Duarte has played seven games this season, scoring one goal, yet the centre-back will be missing with a muscle problem.
Likewise, Yan Brice and Maxime Gonalons have both featured regularly for Granada this campaign, but the pair will be missing with hamstring pulls.
Espanyol possible starting lineup:
Lopez; Vidal, Gomez, Cabrera, Pedrosa; Morlanes, Darder; Embarba, Melendo, Melamed; Dimata
Granada possible starting lineup:
Maximiano; Quini, Diaz, Sanchez, Neva; Rochina, Milla, Montoro, Soro; Molina, Suarez
We say: Espanyol 1-1 Granada
Both sides should have enough to avoid relegation this season, given the lack of quality in the teams below them.
Unlikely to threaten the European positions, expect a cagey affair between two clubs that on-paper look set to cancel each other out.
Top tip
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 54.02%. A draw had a probability of 24.9% and a win for Granada had a probability of 21.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Espanyol win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.98%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.48%) and 2-1 (9.5%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.76%), while for a Granada win it was 0-1 (7.29%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 10.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Espanyol would win this match.
