From November 15 onwards, a tough test awaited Espanyol in LaLiga SmartBank. The well-deserved defeat against Leganés (2-0) set off the alarms, but later the team surpassed two other rivals who also fight for direct promotion with some difficulties, but finally with the three points under their arms, such as Sporting (2 -0) and Almería (2-1). With them 2020 said goodbye, ascending a peak that this January, on paper, will be a descent.
The calendar is more benevolent with Espanyol that this Monday returns to training after a week off. To get you started, on Sunday visit Las Palmas, that with 23 points is in a situation close to decline. In their stadium, yes, the Canaries have added 17 points, far from Espanyol's 25 but with numbers close to the teams in the playoff zone.
Las Palmas will be followed by Castellón, trained by Óscar Cano and with the same points (19) as the last team that marks the descent. After ascending the previous year, the 'orelluts' are having a hard time adapting with a squad similar to that of the previous year, in which, for example, the former player of the subsidiary Iago Indias competes. With seven points away, it is difficult for the black and white to give performance away from their stadium.
Embalado hopes to get Vicente Moreno's team to the next two commitments against Girona and Rayo Vallecano, two teams that were precisely able to beat Espanyol in the first round. The Vallecanos, who broke Diego López's unbeaten record, won 1-0 in the final moments, while the Girona team came back in Cornellà-El Prat when the match was headed 1-0: they finished 1-2. Despite this, both teams are not in this break at their best. Although Rayo remains sixth and with a regular trajectory, the franjirrojos are far from the direct ascent zone, their objective when the course began. The Catalans, for their part, have reached a point out of six, dry in attack.
In between, the blue and white team will be excited about the Cup. First, in the tie against Burgos CF, and then, in case of overcoming this round, with the deiciseisavos and the second round. Although the coach's philosophy is to go game by game, January can be a determining month in the league for the Blue and Whites and hopeful in the Cup.