The Spanish La Liga action this weekend gets underway on Friday the 22nd of January with the meeting between Espanyol and Real Betis at the RCDE Stadium.
The hosts begin the weekend in midtable on 27 points while the visitors are pushing for Champions League qualification in third place on 37 points.
👟⚽️ Sessió d'entrenament a les instal·lacions del @Cadiz_CF. #RCDE pic.twitter.com/PvIk9JrqGv— RCD Espanyol de Barcelona (@RCDEspanyol) January 19, 2022
👟⚽️ Sessió d'entrenament a les instal·lacions del @Cadiz_CF. #RCDE pic.twitter.com/PvIk9JrqGv
Espanyol come into the match on the back of a 2-2 draw at Cadiz on Tuesday night. Having opened the scoring early in the game it appeared Espanyol were going to leave with nothing having conceded a second goal in the 90th minute but there was still time for an equaliser.
That result means Espanyol have failed to win any of their last 3 matches in all competitions. In addition to the draw at Cadiz, Espanyol have lost 2-1 at home against Elche in La Liga and were eliminated from the Copa Del Rey at Real Mallorca, losing the tie 2-1 away from home.
Espanyol have recorded one win from their 4 most recent games in La Liga. Home form shows Espanyol have been difficult to beat and they have lost only one of their 8 most recent league games at the RCDE Stadium. Espanyol have found the back of the net in each of their last 9 home La Liga fixtures and both teams have scored in 3 of their 5 most recent home league matches.
Real Betis make the trip to the RCDE Stadium having secured maximum points on Tuesday night thanks to a comfortable 4-0 home win over Alaves. Real Betis opened the scoring after only 11 minutes and were 3-0 up at half-time. They added a fourth goal early in the second half and it was a simple victory against a team in the relegation zone.
That win means Real Betis are undefeated in their last 4 games in all competitions, including wins over Real Valladolid and Sevilla in the Copa Del Rey plus a draw away from home against Rayo Vallecano in La Liga.
However, Real Betis have recorded just a single victory from their 4 most recent league matches.
They have been inconsistent away from home in La Liga and Real Betis have won 2, lost 2, and drawn 1 of their 5 most recent away league games. Real Betis like to score goals when on the road and they have netted in 11 of their last 13 away La Liga matches.
Team news and Espanyol are without the suspended duo of Adrià Pedrosa and Keidi Bare. Every other player should be available for the host.
Real Betis travel without Martin Montoya who is injured and Alex Moreno who is suspended.
This is a game in which we expect to see both teams find the back of the net. Espanyol are not easy to beat at home but Real Betis are the better team and could come out on top, with over 2.5 goals scored.