Espanyol’s hopes for staying in La Liga after hanging by a thread. Following Sunday’s disappointing derby defeat to Barcelona, which handed Xavi Hernandez’s side the La Liga title, Los Pericos sit in 19th, four points adrift of safety.
Luis Garcia’s appointment has not had the desired effect, and as such, Espanyol’s form has failed to improve over the last few weeks. They have won one in their last 11 matches, losing eight of those.
Espanyol have a very difficult run-in too, as they face Rayo Vallecano, Atletico Madrid, Valencia and Almeria in the final weeks of the season. To compound their misery, MD have reported that Martin Braithwaite is expected to be ruled out for the remainder of the campaign after suffering a thigh injury.
Braithwaite suffered the injury in the Barcelona derby, and the diagnosis has ruled him out for at least the next three matches. He may be able to return for the match against Almeria, but it will be touch-and-go.
Joselu is still available, as is Javi Puado, and they will hope to fire in the goals for Espanyol, who will be desperate to avoid falling into the second tier of Spanish football for the second time in three seasons.
