Coach: Sergio Gonzalez
Key signings: Gerard Moreno
Key sales: Kiko Casilla, Hector Moreno, Sergio Garcia
Last season: 10th
This season [predicted finish]: 12th
Predicted finish is the average prediction of the Football Espana team.
Sergio Gonzalez’s first season in charge of Espanyol was a relatively successful one, based on the club’s recent standards, with a solid 10th place finish and a rather impressive Copa del Rey run that saw them succumb to Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals.
Unfortunately for the Catalan outfit, it does not appear that Gonzalez’s team is ready to pursue a Europa League place after a summer that has seen the core of their squad dismantled one by one. Sergio Garcia, their captain, talisman and top scorer for the past two seasons, has departed for Qatar and Christian Stuani, their second top scorer for the past two seasons has also left for Middlesborough. To make matters worse, Spain international goalkeeper Kiko Casilla has joined Real Madrid and the defensive solidity that Hector Moreno brought to the team has been lost after a transfer to the Eredivisie with PSV Eindhoven.
Admittedly, the abundance of departures from the club does not bode well, yet the problem of a lack of goals that probably should trouble Gonzalez may already be solved with the astute acquisition of Spanish striker Gerard Moreno. It was patently clear last season that the forward should have been getting more game time at Villarreal, but the form of Luciano Vietto and Ikechukwu Uche resulted in sporadic appearances throughout the campaign.
Gerard, who is returning home to Catalonia after starting his youth career off with Badalona, still managed 17 goals in all competitions, so a certain scoring prowess is evident. Moreover, Thievy Bifouma has joined Gerard from relegated Almeria and Felipe Caicedo remains to attempt to share the goal burden.
Crucially for Gonzalez, Espanyol must gather momentum for at least a portion of the campaign in order to maintain and consolidate their League position from last time round. Undoubtedly, the Cup run offered a helping hand in terms of providing confidence to the squad in 2014-15, so unless a similar success occurs in the Copa del Rey, perhaps more consistent results are required in the League to remain mid-table.
As well as Gerard and Thievy, centre-back Michael Ciani has bolstered the defensive ranks and loanees Burgui and Francesco Bardi come in to offer some youthful exuberance that may be lacking after the impressive Lucas Vazquez returned to Real Madrid. As has been the case for the past couple of years at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat, mid-table stagnation seems to be on the cards with various key players leaving, but Espanyol should just do enough to maintain their standing.
