La Liga: Espanyol’s Euro Dream is Fading Fast

Espanyol vs Getafe

Eighth plays ninth in a Barcelona battle when La Liga: Espanyol vs Getafe kicks off at the RCDE Stadium on Saturday. 

Espanyol’s fall down the Primeira Division table has been alarming for the club’s new owners ALK, and, after impressing hugely in the first half of the campaign, Los Periquitos have been looking over their shoulders since the turn of the year and now they are staring at a mid-table finish at best. 

Meanwhile, visitors Getafe, the lesser known club of Madrid, are on the charge up the table and they will be keen to bounce back from a loss last week. In fact, both teams come into the game on the back of a defeat, Espanyol losing 2-1 away to Real Mallorca, while Getafe went down 1-0 at home to Atletico Madrid.  

Manolo Gonzalez led Los Periquitos to a 14^th place finish last season and it seems strange to say this after Espanyol spent much of the campaign pushing for a top four place, but they only sit five points above that 14^th place with ten games to play. Take Saturday’s opponents; Espanyol are two points clear of Jose Bordalas’ Getafe right now, but six weeks ago the gap was 11 points. 

An away win on Saturday would see the two teams swap places and Espanyol could even drop into the bottom half of the table; the situation is becoming critical for Gonzalez and his men.  

 

Talking Points

Espanyol can’t hang on to a lead 

While their illustrious neighbours, FC Barcelona, keep on picking up results, quite often with late goals and strong finishes, Los Periquitos are struggling to hold on to a lead. Last week they went 1-0 ahead in Mallorca before falling to a 2-1 loss, and Espanyol failed to hold onto a lead, twice, in a recent 2-2 draw with 18^th place Elche. They followed that up with a 1-1 draw with bottom club Real Oviedo, this time coming from behind, but Los Periquitos have also let points slip against Valencia and Celta Vigo in recent encounters.

Defender Carlos Romero has made a rallying call to his team-mates, saying: “the main thing is to keep a clean sheet, because we’re conceding goals that are costing us points. We have to get that victory no matter what and forget everything that’s happened up to now. The team needs to change a dynamic and we hope it comes soon.”  

Espanyol will be without Ivorian defensive midfielder Charles Pickel on Saturday, after he was sent off during the loss to Mallorca, and the Espanyol boss may plump Miguel Rubio in a holding role.    

 

Getafe’s march is truly impressive

Four wins from the last six games is some return for Getafe, but it is even more impressive when you look at the teams they have faced. Geta’s visit to their titanic neighbours Real Madrid at the beginning of March was a case in point as Bordalas’ men took a 1-0 win away from the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. Uruguayan striker Martin Satriano, on loan from Lyon, scored the winner and he has three in eight games for Getafe since moving from the French giants in January. 

Geta followed that win up with another victory over a big gun, beating Real Betis with Satriano on target again, before losing narrowly to Atletico Madrid last week, playing much of the second half with ten men after Abdel Abqar was sent off. Getafe have also beaten high flying Villarreal in this run so they have seen off three of the best in some style.    

Skippered by keeper David Soria and with Uruguay defender Sebastian Boselli arriving on loan fro River Plate, the 22 year old has four U23 caps for Uruguay and looks a class act, this is a team with a strong backbone and a lethal threat…and they have their tails up.     

 

History 

The head to head Espanyol vs Getafe results have been well contested with the Catalans winning 17 to 15 of the last 42 games, while at the RCDE Stadium the margin is wider where Espanyol have won ten to Getafe’s six; and they picked up a 1-0 win when the two sides met in Madrid in December, as Leandro Cabrera scored the only goal of the game.  

With three wins and three draws from the last six games Espanyol are slipping fast while Getafe are on the climb, with four wins and two losses from their six.    

 

Betting Tip

The Espanyol vs Getafe betting odds predict a hard fought game, with the hosts at SBOTOP odds of 2.40 to win this clash, Getafe at 3.25 and the draw at 2.89.

Each of the last five meetings between these two sides have all resulted in a 1-0 win and that’s where I’m heading too, with another miserable weekend for Espanyol on the cards.  

   

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