Alaves vs Espanyol prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2025-02-21 13:00.
[p]Deportivo Alavés begin this weekend one point inside La Liga’s relegation zone after a frustrating 3-3 draw at fellow strugglers Leganés prompted the club to join Real Madrid in formally complaining about the current standard of refereeing. Head coach Eduardo Coudet, who has won just one of his ten matches in charge of Alavés (D5, L4), also expressed his disapproval of the two first-half penalties that Leganés scored from. [/p]
[p]Some of Alavés’ issues can be found closer to home, with attacking potency a clear issue as four of their last eight La Liga goals came from the penalty spot. Those issues have contributed to a five-match winless run on home soil in the league (D3, L2), though their stoic defending at least ensured that no side was able to score more than once across those five fixtures. [/p]
[p]The visit of Espanyol, who have seen eight of their last ten La Liga games produce under 2.5 total goals, therefore does not bode well for the neutral. A 1-1 draw against Athletic Club last time out followed that pattern and made it seven successive outings which have produced a different result than the previous game, yet manager Manolo González pointed to the 4-1 loss to Athletic in October as proof of their improvement. [/p]
[p]Starting the round just a point clear of danger, it’s on the road where the Parakeets desperately need to make further gains to enjoy a more comfortable gap to the drop zone. Espanyol remain the worst performers in the division away from home, taking just two of a possible 33 points (D2, L9) with a league-low six goals scored, so repeating their 3-2 win in this season’s reverse fixture appears a tall order.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Joan Jordán returned from injury by scoring twice against Leganés last week, and with goals in three of his last four matches, he could be key to Alavés’ recovery. For the visitors, Javi Puado delivered Espanyol’s only goal of their last away game and netted all three of his side’s goals in the previous H2H in September.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Twelve of the last 13 La Liga H2Hs were either drawn or decided by a one-goal margin. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Aaron Murphy[/i][/p]