Espanyol vs Valencia Prediction & Tips
Despite a poor performance and a 2-1 defeat at Mendizorroza, Espanyol mathematically secured their stay in LaLiga Santander (LL) last matchday thanks to the 0-0 draw between Sevilla and Mallorca. The Pericos have taken one point from the last 15 possible (E1, P4), a streak that has precipitated the dismissal of their coach, Vicente Moreno. In each of their last four matches, the Blue and Whites have conceded at least one goal in the opening 45 minutes; so far in the championship, only one club has conceded more goals in the first half than Espanyol (25).
Thirteenth before this matchday, Espanyol will be looking for a win to comfort their fans in the last game of the season at the RCDE Stadium, and an additional motivation may be to achieve their first league double over Valencia in a campaign since 2007-08 (first leg: VAL 1-2 ESP). Recent history seems to be on their side: in the last three seasons, Espanyol have not lost their final home league fixture (G2, E1).
Defeated in the final of the Copa del Rey, Valencia’s performance is also leaving much to be desired in the final stretch of the championship. Los Ches are on a seven-game winless streak (E4, P3). After losing again at the Mestalla to their rivals in the Copa final (VAL 0-3 Betis), VCF coach José Bordalás admitted that his team is finding it difficult to focus after losing their European chances. Valencia are in danger of finishing another season in the bottom half of the table.
It remains to be seen whether Bordalás will continue at the helm next season, with discrepancies between the sporting management and the coach evident. Valencia go into their penultimate game of the season with serious goalscoring problems: no club has scored fewer goals in their last nine league games than Valencia (four).
Players to watch: Raúl de Tomás provisionally equalized from 11m in Espanyol’s loss to Alavés last matchday, and did the same against Valencia in the first leg. In that match, Omar Alderete broke the 0-0 scoreline in favor of the che team. The Paraguayan center-back has four yellow cards in his last six official matches.
Noteworthy fact: only the top two in the standings have a higher average of points conceded by conceding the opening away goal than Valencia (1.11 – G3, E1, P5) in the current season.
Espanyol – Valencia FREE TIPS
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