Espanyol vs Sevilla
Sevilla have a great opportunity that’ll help them in their La Liga championship pursuit when they’ll face Espanyol this Sunday night.
Los Palanganas are currently second at the table with 50 points. And should they win this weekend, they can cut Real Madrid’s table lead to only a solitary point.
They’ll face a stuttering Espanyol squad, who have yet to win a single league game since the start of the year, and they are desperate to snap their ongoing slide.
Los Periquitos appear safe for now since they’re at 13th with 28 points. But they know that if the negative La Liga 2022 results keep on coming, then they’re in huge trouble.
The pre-match SBOTOP betting odds are favouring the visitors for this contest only via a slim margin, which indicates that we might be in for another highly-competitive affair.
Learn more about these two sides by reading today’s match preview.
Talking Points
Espanyol must keep their cool
Espanyol are in a rough place mentally with their skid and they must dig deeper in order to come out of it sooner than later.
First, they have to keep their emotions in check as the yellow and red cards have been all over the place in these past few games.
The trend started in their Copa del Rey Round of 16 defeat against Mallorca as Adria Pedrosa was sent off late in added time. Espanyol were facing a two-goal deficit but they could only muster one goal.
It happened again a week later when Raul de Tomas was sent off following a frustrating match against Real Betis to where they squandered their lead en route to a 4-1 scoreline.
Then against Barcelona four days ago, youngsters Nico Melamed and Manu Morlanes were both sent off after Luuk de Jong broke the hearts of the Espanyol faithful following his added time equaliser.
Raul de Tomas is the team’s leader and he has a big responsibility on his hands. He is their best scorer with 13 goals and three assists, but more than that he must rally his group in order to have a chance.
Sevilla rejuvenated with their latest addition
Anthony Martial opened his account for Sevilla during their 3-1 Europa League win over Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday, which is a delightful sight to see for both Sevilla and Manchester United supporters.
The Frenchman joined Los Palanganas via loan last January in hopes of having more playing time, so it’s good that he got his wish and he now feels at home in Spain.
With Sevilla eager to give Martial ample opportunities moving forward, this would only boost his morale which should come in handy for their title-challenging campaign.
Sevilla will need all they can get in order to win their first La Liga since 1945/46 and Martial could have an important part to play since he bolsters their attacking depth.
History
Sevilla have been the superior team against Espanyol lately especially when on the road. Since their away defeat in January 2017, they have not lost any of their last seven La Liga games against Los Periquitos (W5, D2).
In their last three visits to Catalonia, Sevilla have not conceded a goal and they’ve scored at least two goals in five of their last six meetings.
Espanyol are in danger of achieving an unwanted record this weekend. Should they fail to win, Los Periquitos will have the worst losing streak in La Liga for 2021/22 at six consecutive games.
Los Palanganas, on the other hand, are undefeated in their last 10 La Liga matches (W5, D5) and they’ve secured a clean sheet in six of those games.
Their reverse fixture last September ended in a 2-0 score in favour of Sevilla as Youssef En-Nesyri and Rafa Mir each found the back of the net.
Betting Tip
 |
 | Espanyol vs Sevilla | Sevilla Asian Handicap -0.50 @ 2.21 |
| February 20, 21:00 (GMT+8) |
Given their stronger form, it’s a bit puzzling why Sevilla aren’t favoured much more by the La Liga 2022 odds. Los Palanganas are priced at 2.21 to win, while a victory for Espanyol is pegged at 3.20 and a draw is at 3.30 in the 1X2 market.
Espanyol are probably feeling good about themselves after gaining an unlikely point against Barcelona in the last time out, but their inability to close out games is a cause of concern.
Sevilla are a much better side compared to Barcelona this term. And for that alone, we are confident that the visitors will come away with all three points from this contest – which will add more pressure to league leaders Real Madrid.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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