Las Palmas play host to Espanyol in the Primera Liga on Friday, in a match between two teams that are looking to bounce back after not so positive results lately. Last season each of the two sides won the direct home match but Las Palmas recorded a more impressive victory, 4-0 compared to Espanyol's 1-0. The two outfits have not met many times in their history because they have been in different leagues most of the time, but it's worth mentioning that all the last six matches were won by the home side.
Las Palmas had a great start to the season, they won three of their first four matches and they were flying high in the Primera Liga table. But then came three matches without a win, starting with a 4-1 defeat at Real Sociedad. However, in that three-match spell Las Palmas recorded a creditable draw, 2-2 at home against mighty Real Madrid. They have scored an impressive 16 goals so far this season, that's as many as Real Madrid have scored so far. Jose Artiles is injured and will not play a part in this match, while the participation of Helder Lopes is still in doubt.
Espanyol have been struggling since the start of the season and they are probable candidates for relegation at the end of the campaign. They have won just one of their seven matches so far and lost three, but they did record decent draws against the likes of Real Sociedad and Villarreal. Their only victory of the season has been away from home, 2-1 at Osasuna in September. Oscar Duarte and Felipe Caicedo are out injured, but striker Gerard Moreno, who has scored four times this season, is fit and ready to play.
Probable line-ups:
Las Palmas: Varas - Macedo, Lemos, Garcia, Castellano - Viera, Mesa, Gomez - Tana, Livaja, Boateng
Espanyol: D. Lopez - J. Lopez, D. Lopez, Reyes, Sanchez - Perez, Rocca, Fuego, Piatti - Moreno, Baptistao
My prediction: 1-1 draw.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Las Palmas win - 2.10
Draw - 3.30
Espanyol win - 3.75
10/26/16, 10:10:45 PM
