Real Valladolid will take on Espanyol at the Estadio Jose Zorrilla on Monday night in what will be both clubs' first matches of the new La Liga season.
After watching the rest of the league compete over the weekend, both Valladolid and Espanyol will now have a better idea of most of how they are shaping up next to the rest of the division.
Both team were promoted at the end of last season which makes this a potentially bigger fixture than what you would expect on the opening day. Come the end of the season, the winner could look back on this as a big step towards potentially beating the drop.
How the bookies view it: The hosts go in as favourites
Real Valladolid secured automatic promotion last season while Espanyol needed to come through the playoffs so it is perhaps unsurprising that the hosts are the favourites for this match. A Real Valladolid victory has been priced at 11/8 with Betfred while a victory for Espanyol has been priced 11/5. The draw, which would probably suit both teams, has been priced at 21/10.
Recent head-to-head: Not much to split them
There isn't too much to take from the recent H2H record between Real Valladolid and Espanyol given that both teams have experienced victories over the other in recent times. Over the past five years, Real Valladolid have won three of the seven matches, as have Espanyol. Only one of the last seven matches has finished in a draw so expect a result one way or the other.
Players to watch: Stepping into Braithwaite's shadow
Martin Braithwaite was the biggest reason for Espanyol's promotion campaign last season but the 33-year-old has elected to join Gremio on a free transfer this summer instead of sticking with the Spanish club.
Replacing Braithwaite was a virtually impossible task but the man Espanyol are hanging their hat on is Irvin Cardona. The Frenchman has signed on loan from Augsburg after recently enjoying another successful loan spell with Saint Ettiene in France.
Espanyol will be hoping that Cardona's loan spell will go as well as Victor Meseguer's did at Real Valladolid last season. The midfielder was the club's leading goalscorer in all competitions and has now signed on a permanent deal. It will be intriguing to see how he copes with the jump up to La Liga.
Predicted line-ups
Both teams are missing players for this one with goalkeeper, Arnau Rafus, set to miss out for Valladolid and Edu Exposito to sit in the stands for Espanyol. On the flip side, several new signings could make their debuts including Stipe Biuk and the aforementioned Cardona.
Real Valladolid: Hein – Perez, Comert, Sanchez, Rosa – Juric, Meseguer, Biuk – Ndiaye, Moro, Latasa
Espanyol: Pacheco – Tejero, Gomez, Cabrera, Romero – Aguado, Kral – Veliz, Milla, Puado – Cardona
Anything else catch the eye?
In the three matches that these two teams played against each other last season across the Copa del Rey and the Segunda Divison, only six goals were scored. Under 2.5 goals to be scored on Monday night is priced at 8/13 with Betfred.
This La Liga match between Real Valladolid and Espanyol will be played on Aug 19, 2024 and kick off at 18:00. Check below for our tipsters best Real Valladolid vs Espanyol prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
