LOOKING FOR THE FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON AT CORNELLÁ

The match...

RCD Espanyol vs Sevilla FC, LaLiga Santander MD5, at the RCDE Stadium de Barcelona in Cornellá. 

League table

Sevilla FC are currently 17th in the league with a solitary point picked up at home to Real Valladolid. RCD Espanyol are two places above with three extra points, thanks to a draw against RC Celta and a win away at Athletic Club last week. 

Matchday squads

Julen Lopetegui has named a 24-man travelling squad, with Papu Gómez missing out due to injury and Óliver Torres returning after his absence in midweek. As for the hosts, Keidi Bare is unavailable after picking up an injury against Athletic Club. 

Players to watch

Centre back Leandro Cabrera, midfielder Sergi Darder and ex-Deportivo Alavés striker Joselu are three Espanyol players to keep a close eye on.

Last 3 trips to Cornellá

The RCDE Stadium has been a happy hunting ground in recent years, with the team taking 7 out of a possible 9 points in the last three clashes. Last season, we were held to a 1-1 draw despite being reduced to ten men. Julen Lopetegui's first match as manager was a 2-0 win in August 2019, while Wissam Ben Yedder scored from the spot in a 1-0 win in March 2019. Of course, there was no match against Espanyol in the 2020/21 season as they were in LaLiga SmartBank. 

Pre-match press conferences

Julen Lopetegui stated that his team "will get back to winning ways" and stressed the need to "prolong our good spells in matches". As for Diego Martínez, he believes that Espanyol will have to "put in blood, sweat and tears to get the points."

Match officials

The match will kick off at 16:15 horas and will be refereed by Cuadra Fernández, while Jaime Latre is on VAR duty.