Struggling Espanyol will be bidding to end a run of three successive defeats when they continue their La Liga campaign away to Catalan rivals Girona on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors are currently 17th in the table, just one point outside of the relegation zone, while Girona occupy 12th position, four points above their opponents in this contest.
Match preview
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Girona secured a return to La Liga via last season's Segunda Division playoffs, so any spot higher than 18th would be considered a successful campaign for the Catalan outfit.
Michel's side boast a record of eight wins, seven draws and 11 defeats from their 26 league matches this season to collect 31 points, which has left them in 12th position in the table.
Girona are five points clear of the relegation zone heading into the next set of fixtures, but they have only picked up one point from their last three league games, which came in a 2-2 draw with Rayo Vallecano last time out.
The White and Reds have been relatively strong in front of their own fans this season, picking up 21 points from their 13 matches, which is the eighth-best home record in the division.
Girona also claimed a point in the reverse match with Espanyol earlier this season, but they have only won one of their last four La Liga fixtures with their Catalan rivals.
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Espanyol, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of three successive defeats to Real Valladolid, Real Madrid and Celta Vigo, which have seen them slide down the table.
Diego Martinez's side suffered a 3-1 loss at home to Celta before the international break, with Jose Gragera scoring a late consolation after the visitors had taken a three-goal lead.
Espanyol will certainly be looking over their shoulders at this stage of the campaign, currently sitting 17th in the table, only one point clear of the relegation zone.
The White and Blues have only won three of their 13 away league games this season, but that is the same as they have managed at RCDE Stadium, while they have picked up one more point (14) than at home (13).
Espanyol were relegated from Spain's top flight in 2019-20, but they managed to bounce back at the first time of asking, claiming 14th in the first division last term.
Team News
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Girona have a fairly lengthy injury list at the moment, with Joel Roca, Aleix Garcia, Alexander Callens, Yangel Herrera, Yan Couto and Ibrahima Kebe all currently on the sidelines.
The home side do not have any new concerns from their draw with Rayo last time out, though, so it would not be a surprise to see the same XI take to the field here.
A 4-5-1 formation should again see Rodrigo Riquelme and Valentin Castellanos feature in attacking areas, while Viktor Tsygankov will also start fresh from his brace last time out.
As for Espanyol, Gori, Keidi Bare, Adria Pedrosa and Ronael Pierre-Gabriel will miss out through injury.
Meanwhile, Leandro Cabrera is suspended following his yellow card against Celta at RCDE Stadium.
Aleix Vidal could come into the starting side for Saturday's contest, while Javi Puado is also pushing to be included following his positive performance off the bench last time out.
Fresh from making his Spain debut during the international break, there will also be another start at centre-forward for Joselu, who netted twice for La Roja against Norway.
Girona possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; A Martinez, Bueno, D Lopez, Gutierrez; Tsygankov, Martin, Romeu, B Garcia, Riquelme; Castellanos
Espanyol possible starting lineup:
Pacheco; Vidal, Montes, Gomez, Gil; Vinicius, Darder; Puado, D Suarez, Braithwaite; Joselu
We say: Girona 1-1 Espanyol
Espanyol have drawn five of their 13 away La Liga matches during the 2022-23 campaign, and we can see another draw in this contest. Both teams are in disappointing form, but a point apiece in the Catalan contest would not be the worst result in the world for either side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
