Espanyol and Almería meet in LaLiga! catch the the league odd series Here, with our prediction, odds, selection and guide on how to watch Espanyol-Almería.
Espanyol (8-12-17) has stuck to the bottom of LaLiga and will return to LaLiga 2 after this campaign along with Elche and one other club. Espanyol will try to get the best results in their last match in the Spanish top flight.
Almeria (11-7-19) are currently in 17th place, leading one point ahead of 18th-placed Real Valladolid. Los Rojiblancos haven’t had consistent success of late, but picking up three points here could give them a sigh of relief from the descent.
Here are the Espanyol-Almería football oddscourtesy of FanDuel.
La Liga odds: Espanyol-Almeria odds
Spanish: +155
Almeria: +155
Tie: +260
More than 2.5 Goals: -190
Less than 2.5 Goals: +154
How to watch Espanyol vs. Almeria
Television: N/A
Streaming: ESPN+, Bet365
Time: 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT
*Watch football LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why Espanyol can beat Almería
The hosts will play their last game at home in Spain’s top flight, as next time they will spend their season in La Liga 2. Espanyol have a 4-6-8 record when playing their home games, and the team from Luis García Fernández should be able to do his best if he wants to give the fans one last taste of victory.
With a do-or-die game at stake and relegation on the horizon for the visitors, the Periquitos should try to make it difficult for Almería to get all three points at the RCDE Stadium in Cornellá. In the Spanish top flight, Espanyol will try to match or exceed his offensive performance of 11.1 total shots, 4.6 corner kicks and 6.6 successful dribbles with 42.4% possession of the ball.
Espanyol have found wins in their 5-3-2 formation, so they should continue with this lineup if they want to maintain their pace, scoring and attacking positioning. However, it appears that manager Fernández will use a 4-2-3-1 formation and add one more midfielder to mitigate Almería’s plethora of attacking options.
Martin Braithwaite, Javi Puado and Nicolás Melamed are expected to continue the goalscoring production for the Periquitos. Sergi Darder, Denis Suárez and Edu Expósito should continue their magic in midfield. Ronael Pierre-Gabriel, César Montes, Fernando Calero and Brian Olivan are sure to face immense attackers on the Almería side, so they need to step up the defense. Joan Garcia is also expected to deflect goals off the posts. Espanyol should match or exceed his defensive metrics of 17.1 tackles, 9.0 interceptions, 19.5 clearances and 3.2 goalie saves.
Los Periquitos will have to play this game without Dani Gómez.
Why can Almería beat Espanyol?
Despite being a bottom team, Almería will not pose as an easy rival. The Second Division champions last season are in 17th place, adding 40 points in 11 wins, seven draws and 19 losses. The rojiblancos will try to collect all three points here to jump to a possible 13th place, beating Valencia, Getafe, Cádiz and Celta de Vigo.
Rubi’s team will need a lot of spark ahead of their last game this June in the top flight in Spain. They hit a rough patch in 2023 but managed to pick up critical wins over Mallorca, Elche, Getafe, Valencia, Barcelona and today’s hosts. The Almeriensistas will need some serious changes in attack, having only found the back of the net 46 times and conceded 62 goals. Their home record is quite good as they sit 9th in the league with 33 points won from 19 games. They have one win, four draws and 13 losses when playing solidly away from home and have only scored 17 times.
UDA recorded a 3-1 win against the hosts in the reverse fixture earlier this season. Almería have won five times and drawn four also in the last 16 games against Espanyol. Almería aim to snap their two-game winless streak with an upset win on foreign soil.
As for Almería, Kaiky and Leo Baptistao are leaving for Almería. Chumi is doubtful to make an appearance while Luis Javier Suárez will serve his sanction.
Lázaro, Adrián Embarba and El Bilal Touré are guaranteed starters for UDA in this game, combining for 14 goals and nine assists this season. Lucas Robertone has two goals and seven assists, while Gonzalo Melero is also a useful midfielder with seven goal contributions.
Prediction and final selection Espanyol-Almería
Espanyol and Almería will make this battle for relegation interesting. Despite hosting the game in familiar territory, Espanyol’s offensive problems will continue to catch up with them. Almeria should build on their first game victory to secure the league double over the hosts.
Final prediction and forecast Espanyol-Almería: Almería (+155), Over 2.5 goals (-190)
