January 10th features a match where Espanyol hosts Elche at Rcde Stadium in a meeting of these two mismatched La Liga teams. Weather on match day is looking like a cloudy and cool day, with daytime temperatures of only 12 degrees, which should make for a nice day for football. Espanyol sits at 11th place in the tables. In their last match they recorded a 1-1 draw against Ponferradina. Adrià Pedrosa scored the first goal for Espanyol in the 4th minute, but de Souza Fonseca got the equalizer for Ponferradina in the 88th minute. With 21 points in their last 10 matches Espanyol should be reasonably happy with their performance, while in their last match, 17th placed Elche, recorded a 2-1 win against Almería. Largie Ramazani struck first for Almería in the 42nd minute, then Pablo Piatti tied it up for Elche in the 52nd minute Finally they completed the comback in the 84th minute on a goal by Raúl Guti to cap off a wild match. Elche is looking for direction having earned 15 points in their last 10 matches.
Espanyol and Elche last played eachother at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero on the 23rd of October. Elche and Espanyol battled to a 2-2 draw. Lucas Boyé struck first for Elche in the 23rd minute, then Manu Morlanes got the equalizer for Espanyol in the 51st minute on a feed from Raúl de Tomás .
Lucas Boyé and Roman Alvarez are the top scorers for Elche in the last five matches, but unfortunately they only have one goal. It’s hard to imagine having success with those stats. Javi Puado has been the most prolific scorer on Espanyol in his last 5 matches with three goals
Vicente Moreno Peris’s squad will be without Yangel Herrera, Vadillo, David López, Fernando Calero and Landry Dimata, while Francisco Javier Rodríguez Vílchez’s Elche squad will be without Oscar Regaño, Darío Benedetto, Lucas Pérez, Lucas Boyé, Iván Marcone and Gonzalo Cacicedo Verdu.