Espanyol v Valladolid

Espanyol vs Real Valladolid Preview

Espanyol were involved in a third stalemate in four games in the Spanish top flight last time out when the upcoming hosts drew 1-1 at home with Leganes but Manolo González's side have another bite at the cherry in terms of returning to winning ways at their RCDE Stadium on Friday night when they take on Real Valladolid in this relegation battle.

Real Valladolid occupy second from bottom spot in the La Liga table and just a point below Friday night's hosts, Espanyol, but having picked up two wins in their last three games overall in La Liga, the visitors may be feeling confident about their chances at the RCDE Stadium.

Espanyol have had to endure a tough and also disappointing campaign in the domestic top flight this season as the hosts have managed to pick up just four wins within their 19 games played in total whilst also being dealt 11 defeats in the process.

However, the chink of light at the end of the tunnel for Espanyol is the fact that all four of their wins so far this term have been achieved on home soil at their RCDE Stadium; important victories against Rayo Vallecano, Alaves, Mallorca and Celta Vigo have at least helped Espanyol keep tabs on the teams sitting above them in the table.

Real Valladolid have doubled their win tally in recent weeks thanks to picking up vital wins against Valencia and Real Betis respectively, both of which were registered on home soil at their Estadio Municipal José Zorrilla in 1-0 victories.

However, similar to their upcoming hosts, Espanyol, Real Valladolid have found league wins hard to come by as they too have managed to muster just four league wins to date this term, three of which have been recorded in their own backyard with victories against Espanyol, Valencia and Real Betis.

The bigger picture doesn't make for promising reading though if one is a Real Valladolid fan as Diego Cocca's side have collected just five wins out of their previous 27 matches overall in the domestic top flight, slipping to 17 defeats in the process as well.

To make matters worse, Real Valladolid's exploits (or rather, lack of) away from home have been simply appalling as the visitors have registered just the single win in their last 13 outings on the road while also being dealt no fewer than 11 losses, therefore suggesting that Valladolid are likely to have their work cut out here on Friday night.

In addition, Real Valladolid have also failed to score in seven of these previous 13 away games too.

Espanyol v Real Valladolid Verdict

Espanyol have won each of the last three meetings at home against Real Valladolid in 3-1, 2-0 and 1-0 wins respectively, so the hosts look the more likely here.

Therefore, our main bet will be Espanyol win @ 1.85

Other side bets worth considering:

Espanyol win & Under 2.5 goals @ 3.50

Correct Score: Espanyol 2-0 @ 7.50