Image source: Alamy Stock Photo
2025-26 Spanish La Liga
Matchday 21
Valencia v Espanyol
Estadio de Mestalla
Valencia, Spain
Saturday, 24 January 2026
Kick-off is at 17h15
Espanyol will be seeking their first win of the new year when they travel up the eastern coast for a clash with Valencia at the Mestalla on Saturday, January 24.
The Parakeets are seeing their UEFA Champions League hopes slowly slipping away after picking up just one point from their first three games in 2026.
Manolo Gonzalez's side had finished 2025 strongly by winning five on the spin before the festive break to put pressure on Atletico Madrid and Villarreal.
But a 2-0 defeat to Girona on January 16 left them winless this month and they've fallen seven points behind the Yellow Submarine (3rd) and Los Colchoneros (4th) in fifth place.
Image source: Getty Images
Los Ches have breathed new life into their fight for survival after claiming a morale-boosting 2-0 victory over Getafe on January 18.
Carlos Corberan's side had dropped into the relegation zone after collecting just three points out of a possible 12 in December and their winless run continued into the new year with 2-1 loss to Celta Vigo followed by a 1-1 draw against Elche.
But Valencia climbed out of the drop zone with a first win in seven matches at the Estadio Coliseum to take them one point clear of Alaves (18th) in 17th position.
Points will be important for both teams for different reasons, although the last six encounters between them have produced no winner, with the reverse fixture at the RCDE Stadium on September 29 ending in a 2-2 draw.
Image source: Alamy Stock Photo
Gonzalez was pleased to see his players pick up the tempo in the second half against Girona after a poor performance in the opening 45 minutes, but acknowledged they were made to pay for not taking their chances.
"We weren't good in the first half; we lacked tempo. Even so, there wasn't too much danger that came our way. In the second half we were better, we had chances, but we lacked the clinical finishing we needed," he said.
"We work a lot on attacking situations and we get into the box quite often, but we lacked a bit of composure today, as well as the ability to see where the advantage was and be a little more fluid in our play.
"We were better in the second half. The penalties had a big impact on the game."
Head-to-Head (Last Five La Liga Meetings)
Matches - 5
Valencia wins - 0
Espanyol wins - 0
Draws - 5
La Liga Matchday 21 fixtures:
Friday, January 23
22h00: Levante v Elche
Saturday, January 24
15h00: Rayo Vallecano v Osasuna
17h15: Valencia v Espanyol
19h30: Sevilla v Athletic Bilbao
22h00: Villarreal v Real Madrid
Sunday, January 25
15h00: Atletico Madrid v Real Mallorca
17h15: Barcelona v Real Oviedo
19h30: Real Sociedad v Celta Vigo
22h00: Alaves v Real Betis
Monday, January 26
22h00: Girona v Getafe
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