The Sunday of the match week 02 starts with the clash between Deportivo Alaves and Espanyol. It will be an afternoon clash which will start on 5 pm local time (3 pm GMT). Espanyol will be travelling for the first time in this season after their season opener at the home against Sevilla. On the other hand, it will be the 2nd straight home game for the Babazorros. means they will remain at the home after playing their first game against Leganes. So Campo de Futbol de Mendizorrotza will have the privilege to host this encounter. Alaves who finished 11th in the league table last season, will travel to Madrid after this game to play Getafe in their first away match. Meanwhile the Catalan club will go back to home to welcome Granada in their next league match.
Match Details:
- Participating Teams: Deportivo Alaves vs RCD Espanyol
- Competition: La Liga
- Match Day: 02
- Date: 25th August
- Time: 4 pm BST/ 3 pm GMT/ 5 pm Local Time
- Day: Sunday
- Venue: Mendizorrotza Stadium
- Location: Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
- Capacity: 19,840
- Surface: Grass
Alaves Squad:
- Goalkeepers: Fernando Pacheco, Antonio Sivera.
- Defenders: Rafael Paez, Alberto Rodriguez, Olivier Verdon, Ruben Duarte, Rodrigo Ely, Victor Laguardia, Guilermo Maripan, Ximo Navarro, Daniel Torres, Adrian Marin, Martin Aguirregabiria.
- Midfielders: Saul Garcia, Rafa Navarro, Jeando Fuchs, Nando Garcia, Javier Munoz, Pere Pons, Lucas Perez, Tomas Pina, Manu Garcia, Mubarak Wakaso, Patrick Twuamasi.
- Forwards: Ramon Mierez, Luis Rioja, Joselu, John Guidetti, Burgui, Ermedin Demirovic.
Espanyol Squad:
- Goalkeepers: Andres, Diego Lopez.
- Defenders: Pipa, Naldo, Adria Pedrosa, Lluiz Lopez Marmol, Didac Vila, Bernardo Espinosa, Adria Lopez Garrote.
- Midfielders: Mohamed Ezzarfani, Matias Vargas, Victor Sanchez, Ander Iturrapse, Sergi Darder, Oscar Melendo, David Lopez, Javi Lopez, Alex Lopez, Marc Roca, Esteban Granero, Wu Lei, Nicolas Melamed.
- Forwards: Victor Campuzano, Borja Iglesias, Facundo Ferreyra, Javier Puado, Pablo Piatti.
Alaves Last 5 Matches:
- 2-1 Win vs Girona
- 1-3 Defeat vs Valencia
- 0-1 Defeat vs Real Sociedad
- 1-1 Draw vs Athletic Bilbao
- 0-2 Defeat vs Barcelona
Espanyol Last 5 Matches:
- 2-0 Win vs Real Sociedad
- 2-0 Win vs Leganes
- 3-0 Win vs Atletico Madrid
- 1-1 Draw vs Real Betis
- 1-1 Draw vs Celta Vigo
Predicted Result: Alaves 2 – 1 Espanyol
Match Preview : Both the teams match each other in the terms of strength. So it should be a cracking game. Alaves will definitely have the crowd’s support behind them. I think there will be under 3.5 goals in this clash. Each of the competitors will be looking for the all 3 points, so expect a balanced (neither fully attacking nor fully defensive) tactics.
The hosts will rely mainly on Tomas Pina and Manu Garcia in the midfield. Asier Garitano will probably go with a 4-4-2 formation with Pacheco in between the sticks for this match. On the contrary, a 4-3-3 formation is expected from David Gallego. The visitors’ goal stopper Diego Lopez will play a key role for his team.
Margin will not be big as the counterparts look almost similar on pen and paper. So don’t expect a victory for any side. Whoever wins, will have to fight hard to get the 3 points in their. My prediction is a 2-1 victory for the home side after competitive football of 90 minutes.