ALBACETE

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Espanyol will be looking for a convincing victory against Albacete on Saturday after a poor start to the second half of the season dented their hopes of securing a place in Europe.

Under coach Miguel Angel Lotina, the pericos made a tremendous start to the campaign, rarely dropping out of a Champions League place before Christmas as talk switched from the annual fears of relegation to much grander plans.

However, just one win in six matches, including a 3-2 defeat to Malaga last week, suggests that dreams of playing the likes of AC Milan and Manchester United are now slipping away.

Lotina has not given up on a top-four finish, though, and has highlighted Celta Vigo's progress in the 2002-03 season as the template to follow.

The Galician team, under the guidance of Lotina, was then in a similar position to Espanyol with 14 games to go but still managed to clinch a place in the Champions League.

``Last week against Malaga we did not show enough motivation to win,'' Lotina said.

``We went out and made it too easy for them at the start. We need now to raise our heads and start battling as all is still possible. I was in a similar situation to this with Celta in the past and we made it into the Champions League and I think this team is good enough to do it as well,'' he added.

Since signing from Bordeaux mid-way through last season, defender Mauricio Pochettino has been a rock at the back for Espanyol and his absence in recent weeks through a calf injury has been a big loss.

He is currently stepping up his training and while Saturday may be too soon for him, he is looking at a possible return on Tuesday in the Barcelona derby at the Nou Camp.

Midfielder Ivan de la Pena is also missing as he continues to recuperate from a thigh strain and he too hopes for a comeback against his former club Barca.

Meanwhile, Albacete's new coach Martin Monteagudo will come to the Olympic Stadium ready to scrap for points after two consecutive defeats has left them in the bottom three.

The recent demise led to the departure of former coach Jose Gonzalez this week and Monteagudo has clear ideas of what he wants for the club, although he claims drastic action is not what is needed.

``With so little time to prepare for the game against Espanyol what I am looking for is that each individual player knows their job exactly,'' he explained. I don't want to give them too many new ideas but rather make it a smooth transition. It is impossible to do a complete changeover, which would take several months, in scarcely four days. I believe that in this group there are great professionals and they are doing what they can to take the team forward.''

Its hard to see anything other than an Espanyol win today - Albacete have lost their last four games while the hosts have scored ten goals in their last four home games. No upsets today - Get on Espanyol at 4/7 with Bluesq [£25 Free Bet]

 

Recommendation:	ESPANYOL @ 4/7 with BLUESQ
		[£25 Free Bet]

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