At the RCDE stadium in Barcelona, Espanyol closes this Monday, December 11, the fifteenth round of the Spanish 2017/2018 season. The game against Girona starts scheduled for 18h (BrasÃlia time).
The recent performance of Espanyol
The threat of relegation is the common enemy of the teams. The situation of Espanyol is a little more delicate. With the defeat in the previous round, away from home, to Eibar, by 3 to 1, the team of Catalonia fell to the fifteenth position. He has 16 points (four wins, four draws and six losses).
The picture is not terrifying at all. Espanyol opened the fifteenth round with six points ahead of Las Palmas, who opened the sticking region. However, the results obtained are inferior to what was expected of a team that spent much of the previous season in the competition for the classification for continental tournament.
Under the command of Quique Flores, Espanyol will not be able to count on midfielder David Lopez (14 games in the 2017/2018 Spanish season without a goal). He is suspended due to the accumulation of yellow cards.
It is not the only casualty that will have to be administered. They are in the medical department midfielder Javi Lopez (two games, no goal) and striker Sergio Garcia (13 games, no goal). They will need to undergo further tests that will determine whether they will be able to face Girona.
The current form of Girona
The fourteenth round was not the happiest for Girona. The team had interrupted their sequence without defeats that reached five matches (two victories and three ties). To make matters worse, the defeat was at home and before a team considered rival in the fight against relegation. It took 3 to 2 from Alaves.
The consequences of the failure were not only greater because the little Girona had a good start to the season. Enough to keep it comfortably installed in the middle of the leaderboard. With 17 points (four wins, five draws and five losses), started the day of number 15 in the twelfth position.
The drop in performance, however, did not hit the team’s performances as a visitor. Prepared to play in the defense and exploiting the counter-attacks granted by home owners who are generally more pressured to seek victory, Girona managed to score in five out of six matches in that situation. It is LaLiga’s sixth best visitor with nine points (two wins, three draws and a loss) with nine goals scored and nine goals conceded.
To try to maintain this good sequence against Espanyol, coach Pablo Marchin will also have to ‘dribble’ difficulties encountered with injuries. The defenders Pedro Alcala (five games in the Spanish 2017/2018 Championship, one goal) and Carles Planas (one match, no goal) are in the ward; the midfielder Eloi Amagat (without performances); and striker Oarenwaju Kayode (ten games, no goal).
History of the matches between Espanyol – Girona
The teams face only three times and in friendly matches. Girona won twice and Espanyol took the best in an opportunity.
Only one point separates the teams on the leaderboard, which shows the technical balance between them. By acting in their domains, Espanyol should be considered the best choice of guesses. It has a price of 2.00 in Rivalo. Draw returns 3.40 and successful visitor yields 3.70 for 1.