Preview: Espanyol vs. Eibar - prediction, team news, lineups

Already-relegated Espanyol will be looking to end a run of six straight La Liga defeats when they welcome struggling Eibar to the RCDE Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Espanyol's 1-0 defeat at Barcelona on Wednesday night confirmed their relegation to the second tier, while Eibar currently sit 15th in the table, just four points clear of the relegation zone with three games left.

Match preview

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Espanyol's relegation to the Segunda Division was confirmed on Wednesday as they suffered a 1-0 loss to Barcelona at Camp Nou, with Luis Suarez scoring the only goal of the Catalan derby.

Periquitos have not actually played outside of Spain's top flight since the 1993-94 campaign but that will be the case next term, having endured an extremely tough season at this level.

Indeed, the Catalan side have only won five of their 35 league matches, picking up just 24 points, to sit bottom of the table; they have only managed 21 goals, while a record of 55 conceded is the second worst in the division.

A number of players are expected to move on during this summer's transfer window, and it will be very interesting to see what type of business the club do ahead of the 2020-21 campaign.

Espanyol will actually enter this match off the back of six straight league defeats, although they have won since returning to action last month - beating Alaves 2-0 at the RCDE Stadium.

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Eibar, meanwhile, are not safe from the drop at this season; a record of nine wins, nine draws and 17 defeats from 35 matches has brought them 36 points, leaving them 15th in the table.

Los Armeros are only four points clear of 18th-placed Mallorca, though, and therefore have work to do if they are to secure their spot at this level for the 2020-21 campaign.

Jose Luis Mendilibar's side will enter this weekend's match off the back of a 0-0 draw with Eibar on Thursday night, but they have lost two of their last three since impressively winning at Granada on June 28.

There is no question that Eibar would have earmarked this game as the chance to secure a victory, but Espanyol ran out 2-1 winners in the reverse fixture earlier this season.

Espanyol La Liga form: LLLLLL

Eibar La Liga form: DWWLLD

Team News

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Espanyol will be without the services of Pol Lozano due to the red card that the Spaniard picked up against Barcelona on Wednesday, but Jonathan Calleri is back from a suspension of his own.

Sebastien Corchia has been ruled out with a knee problem, although the Catalan side are otherwise in good shape when it comes to injuries.

Sergi Darder and Wu Lei could return to the XI, having been named on the bench against Barcelona, although Raul de Tomas is expected to keep his spot in the final third.

As for Eibar, Sergio Alvarez is back from suspension, but Anaitz Arbilla and Ivan Ramis remain on the sidelines through injury.

Alvarez is likely to return to the middle of the park, while Mendilibar could also make alterations elsewhere, with Charles pushing to feature in attack, potentially at the expense of Sergi Enrich.

Espanyol possible starting lineup: Diego Lopez; Gomez, Espinosa, Cabrera, Vila; Roca, Darder, David Lopez, Melendo; Wu Lei, De Tomas

Eibar possible starting lineup: Dmitrovic; Correa, Burgos, Bigas, Cote; Leon, Diop, Alvarez, De Blasis; Kike, Charles

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We say: Espanyol 1-1 Eibar

Eibar will be desperate to win as they bid to stay clear of the relegation zone, but the pressure is somewhat off Espanyol, and the home side have a lot of talented players despite their struggles. We fancy a low-scoring draw here, which would not be the worst result in the world for either side.