Espanyol vs Elche – News and Probable Lineups

Espanyol and Elche will aim to recover from recent losses as they face each other in La Liga on Friday evening.

The home team, positioned eighth in the league standings, comes into the match following a 2-1 defeat to Rayo Vallecano, while Elche, currently at the bottom of the table in 20th place, suffered a 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid in their most recent outing.

Match overview

Espanyol has managed two victories, one draw, and three defeats in their opening six league matches this season, accumulating seven points to reside in the eighth position of the table.

The Catalan team harvested four points from three matches so far in September, starting the month with a 1-1 draw against Sevilla, before securing a 2-0 win over Osasuna.

Nevertheless, Manolo Gonzalez’s squad will head into the fixture looking to rebound after going down 2-1 to Rayo Vallecano on Tuesday, making it imperative for Espanyol to bounce back in this encounter.

The White and Blues are undefeated in their last six meetings with Elche, including a 1-0 triumph in the corresponding fixture from the 2025-26 season.

However, their last encounter in March saw the two sides finish level at 2-2.

Elche has not managed to defeat Espanyol since January 2022, and they have only claimed victory in 15 of the 49 encounters between the two clubs in all competitions.

The Green-Striped Ones will come into the match after their 3-2 loss to Real Madrid; Los Blancos had taken a two-goal advantage before Elche managed to level the score at 2-2 in the 83rd minute, only for Carlos Espi to clinch the victory with a stoppage-time goal for Jose Mourinho’s team.

Martin Anselmi’s side has faced a challenging start to the season, recording two draws and four losses across six matches, leaving them at the bottom of the league with just two points.

Elche currently holds the league’s weakest defensive record this season, conceding 16 goals, but they have found the net eight times, which actually surpasses third-placed Real Betis.

Encouragingly, Anselmi’s team can take heart from their last away match, where they held Athletic Bilbao to a 1-1 draw on September 12.

Team News

On Friday evening, Espanyol will be without Omar El Hilali, who was sent off during the later stages of the defeat to Rayo Vallecano last time out.

Additionally, Javi Puado, Kike Garcia, Jofre Carreras, and Andoni Gorosabel will be unavailable for the match due to injuries.

Following the loss to Rayo Vallecano, Bryan Zaragoza and Exposito could be included in the lineup, while Jose Angel Lopez might step in for El Hilali.

Given the quick turnaround, Elche’s head coach Anselmi is likely to make adjustments to the team that started against Real Madrid.

Thomas Lemar, Ruben Sanchez, and Fer Nino are all vying for spots in the starting XI.

Yago Santiago will miss out once again for Elche due to a knee injury, while Adam Boayar may also be sidelined with a muscular issue.

Espanyol probable starting XI:

Dmitrovic; J Lopez, Riedel, Cabrera, Hinojo; Gonzalez, Exposito; Hernandez, Zaragoza, Hartman; R Fernandez

Elche probable starting XI:

Dituro; R Sanchez, Redondo, Chust, Revivo; Lemar, Neto, Aguado, Villar, Nino; Osorio

Elche can find motivation from their previous performance against Real Madrid, and we anticipate that they may secure a draw in this upcoming match.