Sevilla host Espanyol at Estadio Ramon on Saturday afternoon in a La Liga meeting that matters at both ends of the table. Sevilla are 17th and only one point above the relegation zone, while Espanyol arrive in 13th and still need points to steady a season that has slipped badly in 2026.
The pressure is on Sevilla because they cannot afford another home setback after finishing last season just one point above the drop. They beat Real Sociedad 1-0 in their last league match and have won two of their last four, but the margin for error remains thin with 22 points on home soil this season. Espanyol, meanwhile, have taken 17 points from 17 away games and own the division's eighth-best away record, even if their form has collapsed in the second half of the campaign.
This is also a rematch with history behind it. Sevilla lost 2-1 to Espanyol in the reverse fixture earlier this season, their first defeat to the Catalan club since January 2017, but Espanyol have not beaten Sevilla at Estadio Ramon since January 2011. The visitors come in after a 2-0 home loss to Real Madrid and remain three points above 18th-placed Alaves, so a result in Seville would help calm a tense finish to their season.
Both sides have selection concerns that could shape the contest. Sevilla will be without Marcao for the remainder of the season through injury, while Isaac Romero and Manu Bueno are both facing late fitness tests; Djibril Sow is available again after missing the win over Real Sociedad through suspension. Espanyol are missing Javi Puado for the rest of the season because of a knee injury, Cyril Ngonge is a late fitness test, and Pol Lozano is back after serving a ban.
For Sevilla, the points are about survival. For Espanyol, they are about stopping a slide that looked unthinkable earlier in the campaign, with trips to Athletic Bilbao, Osasuna and Real Sociedad still to come after this one.
