Preview: Espanyol vs Villarreal – Prediction, team news, lineups

Espanyol And Villarreal will both look to bounce back from heavy defeats when they face each other at the RCDE Stadium on Thursday.

The hosts are in 13th place in La Liga with seven points, while the visitors are in sixth place, four points ahead.

Game Preview

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Newly promoted Espanyol had a mixed start to the season: of the first six games they won two, drew one and lost three.

The Periquitos recovered from consecutive defeats to take a point against Atletico Madrid before recording two consecutive home wins against Rayo Vallecano and Alaves.

Unfortunately for Espanyol, their three-game unbeaten streak ended on Saturday in their away match against La Liga champions Real Madrid, despite taking a surprise lead in the 54th minute. Thibaut Courtois Own goal.

The Royals finally showed their additional quality as Daniel Carvajal, Rodrigo, Vinicius Junior And Kylian Mbappe everyone found the net to condemn Manolo Gonzalez's team suffered a 4-1 defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu.

After failing to win any of their first three away games, Espanyol now wants to return to the RCDE Stadium and try to achieve three consecutive home wins in the top division since March/April 2022.

To accomplish this feat, the Periquitos will have to beat Villarreal for the first time since their narrow 2-1 away win in January 2020.

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Villarreal went into Sunday's home game against Barcelona with confidence after the team began the new season with a five-game unbeaten streak (3 wins, 2 draws), including victories over Sevilla, Celta Vigo and Mallorca.

However, their upswing was ultimately halted by a goal-dangerous Barcelona team. Robert Lewandowski And Raphinha Both scored braces and condemned Villarreal to a clear 5-1 defeat at the Estadio de la Ceramica.

The Yellow Submarine would have been frustrated that they could not contribute Ayoze Perezin the first half, especially as Yeremy Pino, Nicolas Pepe And Thierno Barry all goals were disallowed.

Villarreal have conceded 13 goals in six games, tied with Real Valladolid for the worst defensive record, and this highlights a key area for improvement if they are to successfully break into the top four this season.

After the home defeat at the weekend, Villarreal now heads away with the aim of extending their unbeaten streak away from home to six La Liga games.

They will certainly fancy themselves in with a good chance of achieving maximum points after winning their last three games against Espanyol by an aggregate score of 10-3.

Espanyol La Liga form:

Villarreal La Liga form:

Team News

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Espanyol have reported no new injury concerns ahead of Thursday's game, but are still unable to call on a long-term injured player. Edu Exposito.

Gonzalez might be tempted to freshen up his midfield, with Alvaro Aguado to those who could be used for the function in the engine room.

In the final third, loan player from Tottenham Hotspur Alejo Veliz is pushing for a recall after being substituted at half-time against Real Madrid.

The guests cannot rely on defenders Juan Foyth and further Gerard Moreno due to knee or thigh injuries.

Villarreal also doubts the availability of the central defender Willy Kambwala and left-back Alfonso Pedraza due to their respective physical problems.

Marcelino could decide to bring some fresh forces into the team, Ilias Achomach and Barry are both competing for a starting place at the RCDE Stadium.

Spanish international Perez will be looking to continue his fine form after scoring four goals in six games since joining from Real Betis in the summer.

Possible starting eleven for Espanyol:
Garcia; El Hilali, Kumbulla, Cabrera, Romero; Tejera, Aguado, Kral, Jofre; Veliz, Puado

Possible starting eleven for Villarreal:
Conde; Femenia, Costa, Albiol, Cardona; Akhomach, Parejo, Comesana, Baena; Perez, Barry

We think: Espanyol 1-2 Villarreal

While Villarreal have a few weaknesses in defence, they also pose a real threat in the final third and we believe their firepower could help them recover from Sunday's defeat and secure a narrow victory over Espanyol on Thursday.

Click here to see a data analysis of the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this match.

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