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Preview · La Liga

Espanyol's stand-in coach inherits seven straight defeats by Villarreal

Espanyol sacked Manolo González after a cup exit to a fourth-tier side, and they have eight points from ten league games. Eder Sarabia has been appointed, but it is Sergio García, the reserve-team coach, who picks this team.

Editorial board · 30 October 2026 · Updated Fri 30 Oct, 19:05 UTC
A full Estadio de la Cerámica at night, seen from high in the stand behind one goal, with the players spread across the floodlit pitch.
Estadio de la Cerámica under the lights on a La Liga night. Photo: Frank94Rock / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Íñigo Pérez has asked himself how his own players would respond if their coach were sacked, and his answer is the match he expects. "I don't expect anything other than a game of very high aggression," the Villarreal coach said on Thursday.

Villarreal have beaten Espanyol seven times running and a stand-in coach changes none of that: the hosts win, with goals at both ends and at least three in all.

Villarreal · 4-4-2Espanyol · 4-2-3-1Péter GulácsiGulácsiSantiago MouriñoMouriñoPau NavarroNavarroRenato VeigaVeigaSergi CardonaCardonaTajon BuchananBuchananCarlos MaciàMaciàSanti ComesañaComesañaAlberto MoleiroMoleiroGerard MorenoMorenoGeorges MikautadzeMikautadzeÁngel FortuñoFortuñoOmar El HilaliEl HilaliVanja DrkusicDrkusicLeandro CabreraCabreraRoger HinojoHinojoRafael BauzaBauzaEdu ExpósitoExpósitoAlejandro Santiago VargasSantiago VargasJavi HernandezHernandezBryan ZaragozaZaragozaRoberto FernándezFernández
· Confirmed 19:05 UTC · Line-ups: espn.com

Roberto Fernández leads Espanyol's attack alone in a 4-2-3-1, with Javier Puado, Pere Milla and Tyrhys Dolan on the bench and Ángel Fortuño in goal ahead of Marko Dmitrovic. Villarreal pair Gerard Moreno with Georges Mikautadze and keep Ayoze Pérez and Nicolas Pépé among the substitutes.

Espanyol need exactly that reaction. They lost 4-3 after extra time to Sestao River, a fourth-tier side, in the first round of the Copa del Rey on Tuesday, and Manolo González, in charge since March 2024 and the man who won them promotion, was dismissed that night. Their last win came at Osasuna on 12 September; they have taken one point from the last fifteen.

Eder Sarabia has signed until June 2028, yet he will not be on the bench here. Sergio García, a former Espanyol player who coaches the reserve side, has the team for this one, without the injured Kike García and Jofre Carreras. Roberto Fernández, scorer of six of their league goals, is what remains of their threat.

Villarreal come in on two wins: 2-1 at Valencia last weekend and 5-0 at Manacor in the cup on Tuesday, after a 4-3 defeat by Liverpool in the Champions League. Pape Gueye, sent off at Valencia, is suspended, and Pérez confirmed that Ilias Akhomach and Nathan Saliba are out with muscle injuries.

The fixture has belonged to Villarreal for six years. They have won the last seven league meetings, and Espanyol's most recent win in it was 2-1 at Villarreal in January 2020.