Espanyol vs Leganes Preview: Team News & Prediction
Click here for today’s sports betting tips from our expert analysts!
These two both gained promotion to La Liga last season with Espanyol sitting tucked inside the bottom three and the relegation places but only three points behind Leganes ahead of this one.
Kick-off date/time: Saturday 11th January, 2025: UK – 5:30pm / US ET – 12:30pm / US PT – 9:30am
How to watch on TV: UK – Premier Sports / US – ESPN have the exclusive rights to La Liga games in the USA, so Espanyol vs Leganes may be televised on one of their affiliated channels
How to watch online: UK – Premier Sports / US – ESPN+
Espanyol Preview: Catalan strugglers
Luis Garcia left Espanyol in the summer after guiding Espanyol to promotion via the playoffs last season and former B team coach Manolo Gonzalez took charge but has struggled in charge of what is a weak Catalan side that were always expected to struggle this season.
The home team headed into the winter break on the back of a slender 1-0 defeat to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands before Christmas. That defeat has extended their winless run of form to four matches in La Liga.
Leganes Preview: Lega looking to bounce
Unlike Espanyol, Leganes enjoyed a steadier and more stable summer in which they managed to keep hold of exciting coach Borja Jimenez with the Madrid-based club looking to put their progressive and impressive style of football into practice in the top tier.
They started the season slowly but have grown into the campaign and they went into the winter break on the back of an entertaining clash with Villarreal in which they did lose 5-2 at Butarque. They defeated Cartagena by two goals to one in the Copa del Rey last weekend.
Espanyol Team News: Midfield injuries
Edu Exposito suffered an ACL injury during pre-season but he has resumed some light training, albeit remains a major doubt for this weekend alongside fellow experienced midfielder Jose Gragera for this one.
Predicted XI (4-1-4-1): Joan Garcia; El Hilali, Kumbulla, Leandro Cabrera, Brian Olivan; Pol Lozano; Alex Roca, Alvaro Tejero, Kral, Javi Puado; Cheddira
Unavailable:
Questionable: Jose Gragera (Injured), Edu Exposito (Injured)
Leganes Team News: Couple of suspensions
Leganes are dealing with a couple of suspension issues for the trip to the RCDE Stadium with both Jorge Saenz and Oscar Rodriguez unavailable for this one, whilst key man Enric Franquesa remains unavailable after sustaining an ACL injury.
Predicted XI (5-4-1): Dmitrovic; Andre Altimira, Sergio, Rosier, Nastasic, Javi Hernandez; Dani Raba, Neyou, Cisse, Munir; Miguel de la Fuente
Unavailable: Jorge Saenz (Suspended), Enric Franquesa (Injured), Oscar (Suspended)
Questionable: Nastasic (Injured), Renato Tapia (Injured)
Espanyol vs Leganes Prediction
Throughout this campaign, despite the fact that they play with very different styles, both Espanyol and Leganes have struggled for goals. Espanyol, for example, are more reactive and have scored just 16 goals in their 18 games so far this season, whilst Leganes play a more progressive style but they themselves have only managed to score 17 times, too. Given those respective records, a low-scoring affair is the expected outcome of this one in Catalonia.
Espanyol vs Leganes Tip: Under 2.5 goals
