Huesca vs Espanyol Predictions

This Sunday’s match in La Liga will see Francisco take charge of Huesca for the first time. He has previously managed in the Spanish top flight with Almeria and replaces Leo Franco in charge of the rock bottom new boys, after the Argentine was sacked over the international break. To add a bit more spice to the fixture, the man in the opposing dugout is Rubi. The Espanyol boss guided Huesca to promotion last season before jumping ship in the summer.

So far you’d have to say that was a pretty smart move on his part. Espanyol have been one of the surprise packages with a return of 14 points and only 2 defeats from their opening 8 games. They were comfortable 3-1 winners at home to Villarreal last time out and will head to Huesca as the favourites to claim the win.

Huesca need their new boss to generate some kind of reaction otherwise their top flight debut season could quickly turn into a bit of a nightmare. Things started brightly enough under Leo Franco and with some better finishing from his forwards, he might just have been granted more time. It’s a results business though and a sequence of just 1 point from 6 matches ultimately led to the board making a change.

With the exception of tough away games at Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, Huesca have at least been competitive and they will fancy they can get a result of some description here. Leo Franco was always going to be a gamble given his lack of coaching experience but Francisco brings a bit more experience to the table, even though he remains a young coach.

Espanyol’s relatively poor away form is another reason to fancy Huesca can get something. The Catalans have taken just 2 points from 4 away games this term despite winning all of their home matches. While they did end last term with 3 straight away wins, those all came in games where little was at stake and they’d won just once in 16 on the road in La Liga prior to that.

Overall backing Huesca or Draw Double Chance looks good here and the hosts really do need a result here as they bid to climb out of the drop-zone.

In terms of the score, going for 0-0 appeals. The 3 league matches at the Estadio El Alcoraz this term have produced just 2 goals from open play and it’s also worth noting that Francisco’s last 2 teams both averaged under a goal per game under his stewardship.