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·17 January 2025
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·17 January 2025
Espanyol fans will be in full voice as their side fight against relegation - so back fouls & cards on Friday
Espanyol v ValladolidFriday 17 January, 20:00 kick-offLIve on LaLiga TV
Just one win in 10 has seen Espanyol plummet down the table into 18th, and now means their tie with 19th-placed Valladolid becomes a classic relegation six-pointer.
All four of their wins have come at home though and they've won five of the last six meetings with Valladolid at home - while the visitors have lost eight out of nine on the road this campaign.
Valladolid do have a couple of wins in their last five, which actually represents some decent form for one of the strugglers, but this looks like a scrappy, low-scoring draw to me, so best plan accordingly with our Bet Builder...
There have been 32 cards in the last five meetings between the sides and for Valladolid this has landed in four of the last six - Espanyol are a bit cleaner with just the two in the last five, but this is a big game at the bottom and emotions will run high.
We had four cards in the last meeting and last season's second division clash between them saw 12 yellows and a red as tempers really boiled over - many of the same players are still with each team.
So with the stakes this high cards usually flow - we'll back six of them here at 17/10.
We don't need to add too much to the cards angle for a decent return but will add Valladolid midfielder Mario Martin for 2+ fouls at 11/10.
He's third on the team in fouls and has given away six in his last two outings - which makes it five games in his last seven with multiple fouls.
He's just 20, but has played the last two games and with this crucial game and in the engine room in midfield he's a prime candidate in the fouls market.