La Liga | Gameweek 19

Jan 11, 2025 at 5.30pm UK

RCDE Stadium

Espanyol vs Leganes

Match preview

Espanyol secured their return to La Liga through the Segunda Division play-offs last season, but they are in another relegation battle at this stage of the campaign, having taken just 15 points from their 18 top-flight games this term.

The Catalans have a record of four wins, three draws and 11 defeats in La Liga this season, while their defensive record of 30 goals conceded is the second-worst in the division.

Sitting just a point behind 17th-placed Getafe, it is not time to hit the panic button, and head coach Manolo Gonzalez has kept his job despite the team's struggles this term.

Espanyol are winless in La Liga since the end of November, taking just two points from their last four games, and went into the winter break in Spain with a 1-0 defeat at Las Palmas.

The Catalan outfit faced Leganes twice in the Segunda Division last season, picking up just a point, while Leganes also won the last two La Liga meetings between the two sides.

Saturday's game will be the first time the two sides have met in La Liga since the 2019-20 season, with Leganes winning 2-0 at home and 1-0 away in that campaign.

Leganes, the reigning Segunda Division champions, have already met in 2025, when they defeated FC Cartagena 2-1 in the last 32 of the Copa del Rey, and their reward for that success is a last-16 tie with Almeria on 15 January.

Borja Jimenez's side beat Barcelona 1-0 in their last top-flight away game, but went into the winter break in Spain on the back of a 5-2 home defeat to Villarreal.

A record of four wins, six draws and eight defeats from 18 league games this season has seen El Lega collect 18 points, which puts them in 15th place in the standings, three points above this weekend's opponents.

Leganes have only won once on the road this season, but have lost just three times, with five of their nine La Liga away games ending in a draw.

Recent Performance

Espanyol La Liga form:LWLDDL

Espanyol form (all competitions):WLLDDL

Leganes La Liga form:WLDLWL

Leganes form (all competitions):DWLWLW

Team News

Espanyol will be without the services of Jose Gragera due to a hamstring problem, while Salvi Sanchez is ruled out with a fitness problem, but otherwise the home side are in good shape for this game.

Expect no surprises in the home side's XI this weekend, with a 4-5-1 formation likely to see Antoniu Roca and Javi Puado back in wide positions.

Puado has scored six times in La Liga in 2014/2015, and the struggling hosts will look to the Spaniard for inspiration on Saturday.

Leganes will be without Oscar Rodriguez and Jorge Saenz through suspension, while Enric Franquesa and Renato Tapia will be unavailable this weekend.

The suspensions of Saenz and Rodriguez will force head coach Jimenez to make two changes to his final league XI, with Juan Cruz and Munir El Haddadi likely to come in.

El Haddadi and Dani Raba scored the goals against Cartagena in the Copa del Rey and the pair should retain their places, but there is likely to be a change in the final third, with Miguel de la Fuente set to return to the starting line-up.

Possible starting lineup

Espanyol possible starting lineup:

J Garcia; El Hilali, Kumbulla, Cabrera, Olivan; Roca, Tejero, Lozano, Kral, Puado; Cheddira

Leganes possible starting lineup:

Dmitrovic; Alti, Gonzalez, Nastasic, J Hernandez; Raba, Neyou, Cisse, Cruz; El Haddadi; De la Fuente