Third-placed Real Sociedad will travel to Cornella-EL Prat to face the 15th-placed Espanyol on Sunday at 20:00 GMT.
Real Sociedad will be looking to bounce back to winning ways after the shock 0-1 defeat at home to Valladolid last Sunday.
Espanyol, who are just 2 points off the drop zone, will be looking to get the three points they need to bolster their bid for survival in La Liga.
Key Highlights
Espanyol’s Relegation Fight
After going three unbeaten matches, Espanyol have gone to La Liga outings without a win. They have won twice, drawn two times and lost once in their last five assignments in the league.
Diego Martínez and his charges are currently sitting 15th on the table, two points above the relegation zone. The focus for Espanyol on Sunday will be to get the three points they need to increase the gap between themselves and the bottom three.
They will need more consistent performances and results to achieve this goal. Diego Martínez will have his men ready and motivated for the home clash on Sunday as they look to bounce back to winning ways.
Real Sociedad Top-Four Tilt
Sitting third on the La Liga table with 39 points, Real Sociedad will be looking to return to winning form when they travel to Espanyol on Sunday.
They have gone two patches without a win, dropping 5 points in the process. This has seen their gap to second-placed Real Madrid expand to 6 points while the gap to 4th-placed Atletico Madrid has shrunk to 4 points.
Imanol Alguacil and his charges will be looking to regain their high-level performances to bolster their chances of taking three points from Espanyol and putting pressure on Real Madrid in second.
Injury Report
Espanyol
Diego Martínez will have to pick the team to face Real Sociedad on Sunday without left-back Adrià Pedrosa, who has been sidelined with a groin injury since August 11th, 2022. The fullback has missed 24 matches for Espanyol and the club has issued no return date.
Central midfielder Kaidi Bare is also missing from the action with a ruptured ankle ligament. The 25-year-old has been on the sidelines since December 21st, 2022. Bare has missed eight matches for Espanyol, and the club and the medical team have not set a return date yet.
Pierre-Gabriel will miss the match because of a suspension after picking up a red card in the 1-1 draw at home to Osasuna.
Real Sociedad
Imanol Alguacil will be without center-forwards Umar Sadiq (cruciate ligament rupture) and Momo Cho (ankle injury); these strikers are out of selection for the clash with Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Right-backs Alex Sola (hamstring injury) and Andoni Gorosabel (ankle injury) are all out of action, whereas center-back Jon Pacheco (ankle) and central midfielders Mikel Merino (hamstring) and Ander Guevara (hamstring) are also out of contention.
Other players out of the clash on Sunday include left winger Martin Merquelanz (knee), and attacking midfielder David Silva (calf).
Possible Lineups
Espanyol
A. Fernandez; Brian Olivan, L. Cabrera, C. Montes, Sergi Gomez; A. Vidal, F. Calero, S. Darder, N. Melamed; M. Braithwaite, J. Puado
Real Sociedad
Alex Remiro; A. Barrenetxea, I. Zubeldia, R. Le Normand, D. Rico; P. Marin, M. Zubimendi, A. Illaramendi; T. Kubo, R. Navarro; A. Sorloth
Prediction
Espanyol will look to play a high-energy and high-tempo match when they host Sociedad. The focus will be on leveraging the home support and generating an electric atmosphere to bolster the team.
Sociedad will look to be controlled in their approach. They will focus on taking the sting out of the game and controlling the tempo.
Given the two sides are evenly matched, a draw is the most likely result.
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