Espanyol vs Valencia Prediction: Stalemate on the cards

Espanyol will welcome Valencia to RCDE Stadium on Wednesday night (20:30, live on Premier Sports Player), in what is a vital six-pointer at the bottom of the La Liga table.

The hosts are currently in 18th place, while the visitors' loss to Real Valladolid last week leaves them at the foot of Spain's top flight. Read on for my Espanyol vs Valencia prediction, as well as the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Team News

Espanyol will have make do without the services of Pol Lozano and Jose Gragera due to suspension and injury respectively, meaning that Alex Kral may keep his place in the engine room.

Marash Kumbulla is also suspended for the hosts, so Leandro Cabrera will likely partner Sergi Gomez in the heart of the defence.

As for the visitors, Thierry Correia is out until next season due to a cruciate ligament injury, while fellow full-back Jose Gaya is sidelined until the new year.

Mouctar Diakhaby missed the defeat to Real Valladolid and remains a doubt here, as does first-choice goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who is expected to be in the treatment room until the end of the month.

Espanyol vs Valencia Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Espanyol vs Valencia page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

There isn't much to split the two teams as reflected in the outright prices, as Espanyol are 13/8 to claim a vital three points, giving them an implied win probability of 38.1%. The visitors can be backed at 15/8 and the draw is available at 2/1.

Javi Puado leads the anytime goalscorer market at 23/10, while Hugo Duro is shortest-priced for the visitors at 12/5.

Match result - draw @ 2/1

As mentioned in the introduction, this is a crucial game for both sides who occupy two of La Liga's relegation places.

Espanyol have been heavily reliant on their home form this term, with 13 of their 14 points being accumulated in front of their own fans. Only Wednesday's hosts have accumulated fewer points on the road than Valencia this season, with both sides yet to taste victory on their travels.

There are just four points separating the teams in the league table, and the recent meetings between the two have been closely-contested affairs, with the last three encounters all resulting in a draw.

In addition, both teams are among the lowest scorers in the division, and are anything but prolific in front of goal, so another stalemate on Wednesday night wouldn't surprise me at all.

Under 2.5 goals @ 1/2

As I've mentioned above, both sides have struggled to find the back of the net this term, so a low-scoring game looks to be on the cards at RCDE Stadium. The hosts have scored just 15 times across 16 outings, while the visitors have netted on 13 occasions in their 15 league encounters.

Espanyol's last three contests across all competitions have seen under 2.5 goals land, and the same can be said for the visitor's most recent outings against Rayo Vallecano and Valladolid.

Therefore, I'm not anticipating a goal-fest, so taking under 2.5 total goals looks to be the play here.

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