Sports Mole previews Sunday's La Liga clash between Alaves and Espanyol, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Espanyol will be aiming to make it four straight wins in all competitions when they continue their La Liga campaign with a clash against Alaves at Campo de Futbol de Mendizorrotza on Sunday afternoon.
The visitors are currently fifth in the La Liga table, boasting 18 points from their opening 10 matches of the season, while Alaves are 12th, picking up 12 points from their first 10 games of the campaign.
Match preview
Alaves will enter this match off the back of a huge win in the Copa del Rey, putting seven unanswered goals past Deportivo Getxo to advance to the next round of the competition.
However, the Basque outfit were beaten 1-0 by Rayo Vallecano in La Liga last weekend, and they have only managed to triumph in one of their last six matches in Spain's top flight.
Eduardo Coudet's side have a record of three wins, three draws and four defeats from their 10 league matches this season to collect 12 points, which has left them in 12th position in the table.
Alaves actually have the best defensive record in La Liga this season, having only conceded nine times, but they have struggled down the other end of the field, netting just nine goals.
The Blue and Whites have won 14 of their previous 40 matches against Espanyol, with their last success over the Catalan team coming at home in May 2022.
Espanyol have won four of their last five matches against Alaves, including 3-2 and 1-0 victories when the two teams locked horns during the 2024-25 La Liga campaign.
Manolo Gonzalez's side finished 14th in Spain's top flight last season, so there is plenty of room for improvement this term, and it has been an impressive start to the campaign for the White and Blues.
Espanyol have won five, drawn three and lost two of their 10 matches this term to collect 18 points, which has left them in fifth spot in the table, just four points behind second-placed Barcelona.
The Catalan outfit were in Copa del Rey action on Thursday night, booking their spot in the second round of the tournament courtesy of a 2-1 success over Atletic Lleida.
Espanyol have picked up five points from their four matches on their travels this season, and they will be taking on an Alaves outfit that have eight points to show from their first five games of the campaign at home.
Alaves La Liga form:
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Alaves form (all competitions):
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Espanyol La Liga form:
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Espanyol form (all competitions):
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Team News
Alaves will be without the services of Jon Pacheco due to injury, but the home side are otherwise in excellent shape for the league fixture with Espanyol on Sunday.
Mariano Diaz scored three times against Deportivo Getxo in the Copa del Rey last time out, but it is unlikely to earn him a spot in the XI, with Lucas Boye and Toni Martinez expected to continue in the final third.
Carlos Vicente has been a standout performer this season, scoring five times, and the 26-year-old will also be a notable starter for the home side this weekend.
As for Espanyol, Javi Puado remains unavailable for selection through injury, but no further issues have been reported by the Catalan outfit ahead of the league fixture.
Kike Garcia and Pere Milla have netted four times each for Espanyol this season, and the pair will continue in the final third of the field, while there will also be a start for Roberto Fernandez.
Edu Exposito dropped down to the bench for the league fixture with Copa del Rey last time out, but the Spaniard will be back in central midfield for the away side on Sunday.
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Sivera; Jonny, Tenaglia, Parada, Enriquez; Vicente, Calebe, Suarez, Alena; Boye, Martinez
Espanyol possible starting lineup:
Dmitrovic; El Hilali, Riedel, Cabrera, Romero; Carreras, Lozano, Exposito, Milla; Garcia, Fernandez
We say: Alaves 0-1 Espanyol
Alaves have been excellent defensively this season, so we are not expecting many goals on Sunday, but Espanyol have enough quality to pick up their sixth league success of the campaign.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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