Espanyol vs Alaves Predictions

• Five of Espanyol’s last seven home games have finished as draws, three of which ended 1-1
• Alaves have won only two of their 13 away league games this term
• Both teams have scored in seven of Espanyol’s last nine league contests

Espanyol should take a leap forward

With 11 games remaining, Espanyol find themselves bottom of the La Liga table and last season’s seventh-placed finish, which rewarded them with a spot in the Europa League, is a distant memory.

European football has been an unhealthy distraction for Espanyol, who are six points adrift of safety having won only four of their 27 league encounters.

However, Espanyol reached the knockout stages of the Europa League, topping a section including Ludogorets, Ferencvaros and CSKA Moscow before being dumped out by Premier League Wolves, and are evidently better than their league position implies.

Results should improve now their European adventure is over and we are predicting them to start positively on La Liga’s return against Alaves.

Espanyol have lost only one of their last seven home games, albeit five of those contests finished as draws.

Abelardo Fernandez’s side held bitter rivals Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Atheltico Bilbao and Real Betis to a point in that period and may have to settle for another stalemate against a plucky Alaves.

Alaves have plenty to prove on the move

Alaves have won only two of their 13 away league games this term and, although they are 12 points better off than Espanyol in the La Liga table, have plenty to prove on their travels.

Despite their inconsistent away form, Alaves have scored in nine of their 13 road contests, including on trips to Barcelona, Sevilla and Valencia, and have enough attacking quality through the likes of Lucas Perez, Joselu and Oliver Burke to make their mark here.

Victory may ultimately prove beyond Alaves but they have avoided defeat in seven of their last nine La Liga contests and they are a very difficult side to beat under the stewardship of Asier Garitano.

Alaves and Espanyol shared the spoils in August’s reverse fixture and the pair could be difficult to separate once more.

Goals should occur at both ends

Bookmakers are expecting a low-scoring encounter between Espantol and Alaves but there could be value in backing goals at both ends.

Both teams have scored in seven of Espanyol’s last nine league contests and they have kept only one clean sheet in 13 games on their one patch.

Alaves, on the other hand, are at their most vulnerable on their travels and have kept clean sheets in just two of their 13 matches on the road.

Five of Espanyol’s last seven home games have finished as draws, three of which ended 1-1, while seven of Alaves’s eight draws have resulted in the same scoreline.

In fact, Alaves have drawn their last two La Liga games 1-1 and we like the look of that for a correct score prediction in Barcelona.

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