Espanyol take on Almeria on Sunday as the final day of La Liga goes to the wire at RCDE Stadium on Sunday.
The hosts may already be down but they can still make an impact on the relegation battle as they take on visitors Almeria who could still face the drop. The Parakeets had their relegation confirmed after sharing the points against Valencia last weekend after a dramatic, late equaliser by Samuel Lino.
Espanyol are unbeaten in their last three heading into the match-up, nevertheless, and have also lost just once out of their last four at home. The Catalan club have seen plenty of goals go in of late too, with a minimum of at least three goals scored in each of their last five matches.
Away side Almeria need to just get a result here in order to secure their safety in the Spanish top flight next season. A replication of their 0-0 draw at home to fellow relegation candidates Real Valladolid would ensure that but Rojiblancos have lost all but two of their previous nine matches on the road. They also have the worst away record in the division this term, collecting just seven points from 18 matches.
Head coach Rubi can take some confidence in the fact that Almeria are unbeaten in their last two meetings with Espanyol, picking up a 3-1 victory when they last met in Andalusia back in January. However, Almeria have lost both of their last two clashes against Espanyol in Barcelona, last defeating them away in 2014.
Joselu has been the star of the show for the home side this season, despite their relegation, and has scored a total of 16 league goals thus far. Only Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema have got themselves on the scoresheet more times in the entire division this term so the 33-year-old has really proven himself to be a danger. Martin Braithwaite has also impressed, bagging ten La Liga goals himself.
Young forward El Bilal Toure and Brazilian Lazaro have six goals apiece in the La Liga goalscoring charts for Rojiblancos. The former made his return to the side last time out as he recovered from injury, whilst the latter is in much better recent form, scoring five of his goals across his last five appearances.
Midfielder Gori is expected to be the only injury issue for Espanyol. The 21-year-old has managed to make just one league appearance all term.
The visitors, on the other hand, will be dealing with a few more problems. Luis Suarez will continue to serve his ban after recently receiving a red card, whilst defender Chumi is in doubt due to a muscle injury. Kaiky is also a doubt as a result of a thigh problem with Leo Baptistao and Martin Svidersky out due to injury.
Fans in the UK can watch the La Liga final day drama unfold live on Viaplay and via La Liga TV.
Expert Insight: There should be goals in this one in what should be a highly entertaining affair and one that will mean a lot for Almeria. Espanyol have been solid at home of late, whilst Almeria are poor on their travels. However, the hosts don't have too much to play for so we are backing the visitors to come away with a point to wrap up their survival.
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