Espanyol’s phenomenal unbeaten run was ripped to pieces when they met Real Madrid on Saturday, but they can bounce back against Valencia, who have not won away from home since May.
After another disappointing campaign, which saw Espanyol escape relegation by two points, the Parakeets had one of the best starts in the 2025/26 season, racking up three wins and a draw in the first four rounds, before finally conceding to Real Madrid last weekend. Their defence has hardly been a cause for pride, but their effectiveness in attack has been impressive. And so far, the 10 points they accumulated mean this is Espanyol’s best season start in 12 years.
Valencia’s performance has been synonymous to inconsistency, with the team alternating results since round one – from impressive home wins with clean sheets over Getafe and Athletic Bilbao to a surprising 1-0 defeat to Osasuna and a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Barcelona.
How the bookies view it: Another tight game
With Valencia’s recent away performance, it is not surprising that bookies decided to back Espanyol as the betting favourites. However, the odds are not that far apart, as you can pick Espanyol at 27/20 and Valencia at 11/5. The draw, which is quite possible, has been priced at 21/10.
Recent head-to-head: Five consecutive draws
This is where it gets very interesting. The last five meetings between Espanyol and Valencia all ended level. We’ve seen five consecutive draws between them, which makes predicting this match very difficult. The teams have been inseparable in the H2Hs, and the more important fact is that each one featured goals on both ends too.
Players to watch: Tarrega is not afraid of a tackle
While Espanyol have no injury problems, they will be forced to manage without Pere Milla for the second match in a row, as he is serving a three-match ban after his red card against Mallorca. And this is a huge blow, as he has been the team’s top performer this season. In his absence, we don’t recommend picking a goalscorer, as any pick would be a considerable risk.
Instead, we can try a different approach and look for potential bookings. For example, we found that Cesar Tarrega has made 18 tackles and interceptions in five appearances this season, and he will once again be in the line of fire against Espanyol.
Probable line-ups
Espanyol: Dimitrovic, Romero, Cabrera, Calero, El Hilali, Lozano, Gonzalez, Exposito, Puado, Dolan, Fernandez
Valencia: Agirrezabala, Gaya, Diakhaby, Tarrega, Foulquier, Lopez, Guerra, Santamaria, Rioja, Duro, Danjuma
Anything else catch the eye?
Espanyol have been impressive at home, even beating the far more elite team of Atletico Madrid in the opening round. At the same time, Valencia can only boast two away wins in their last 10 La Liga away games, including back-to-back defeats since the start of the season. In fact, they haven’t scored an away goal yet.
We expect this to change against Espanyol, but it will not be enough to save them. We will back the Parakeets for a narrow 2-1 win to extend their unbeaten home run this season and their unbeaten streak against Valencia to seven in a row.
GambleAware