La Liga | Gameweek 38

May 24, 2025 at 5.30pm UK

RCDE Stadium

Espanyol vs Las Palmas

Match preview

Espanyol may be coming to terms with the fact that, despite collecting 39 points from 32 matches to put them seven points clear of the bottom three with six games to play, they are still fighting for their survival.

However, they have failed to add to this total since drawing with Valencia on 22 April, going on to lose five consecutive matches, including defeats to Villarreal, Real Betis and relegation rivals Leganés.

They then suffered a 2-0 defeat against Barcelona in a game that secured the league title for their local rivals, before suffering the same scoreline in Sunday's away match against Osasuna. This leaves them in 17th place, two points above Leganés with one game remaining.

Like Los Pepineros, Manolo González's team are aiming to avoid an immediate relegation to the second tier. They know that they will secure their top-flight status if they match Leganés' result in their game against Real Valladolid.

However, Espanyol know that they will have to win if Leganés beat La Liga's bottom team, because even a draw would not be enough in that scenario. Leganés have the head-to-head advantage following the 3-2 scoreline at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque earlier this month.

Espanyol can take comfort from having won five of their last six competitive home games against Las Palmas, including a dominant 4-0 victory in the second tier in April 2021.

Las Palmas already know that their La Liga season will end following Sunday's trip to the RCDE Stadium.

The Gran Canaria team are languishing in 19th place, seven points adrift of Espanyol, having won eight, drawn eight and lost 21 of their 37 league matches this season.

They had boosted their survival hopes with back-to-back wins over Getafe and Atlético Madrid, but then experienced a costly drop in form, losing to Athletic Bilbao, Valencia, Rayo Vallecano and Sevilla.

The narrow 1-0 defeat to Sevilla earlier this month, combined with Alavés' victory over Valencia, condemned Las Palmas to relegation with two games left to play.

Diego Martínez's side suffered further disappointment on Sunday when they lost 1-0 to Leganés at home, their fourth such defeat in five games, ensuring they will finish the season with the second-worst home record in the division.

Meanwhile, Saturday's visitors have won only one of their last 10 La Liga away matches (D3, L3), which may affect their chances of achieving their first away victory against Espanyol since a 2-1 win in November 1987. However, they did secure a 1-0 home victory in the reverse fixture in December.

Recent Performance

Espanyol La Liga form:DLLLLL

Las Palmas La Liga form:WLLLLL

Team News

Espanyol will still be without the injured Brian Olivan, while Marash Kumbulla is suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Leandro Cabrera is set to replace Kumbulla in the backline, having completed a one-match ban following his red card in the defeat to Barcelona.

Jofre is pushing to return to the right flank after settling for substitute appearances in the last two matches.

The visitors remain without their captain, Kirian Rodriguez, who is undergoing treatment after announcing a cancer relapse in February.

Fabio Silva remains sidelined with an adductor problem and Stefan Bajcetic is set to miss a second consecutive game due to injury.

Midfielder José Campaña will serve a one-match ban after receiving his fifth yellow card of the league season last weekend.

Possible starting lineup

Espanyol possible starting lineup:

Garcia; El Hilali, Cabrera, Calero, Romero; Gonzalez, Lozano; Jofre, Exposito, Puado; Fernandez

Las Palmas possible starting lineup:

Horkas; Rozada, Herzog, McKenna, Marmol; Park, Loiodice, Essugo, Moleiro; Fuster, McBurnie