La Liga Preview: Villarreal - Espanyol

Espanyol will not be relishing their penultimate game of the season because they will be walking into a party atmosphere in El Madrigal having seen their campaign collapse around their ears.

Four months ago it was the Blanc i Blau who were set to be the sensation of the year by qualifying for the Champions League after an incredible opening half to the term.

Critics were impressed but sniped that the bubble would soon burst, while everyone connected with the club, maybe even the players, dare not make predictions of where they could possibly finish up.

It was lucky that they did not because the disappointment of how the second stage of the season has gone would be even greater had any talk of a definite European place taken place.

Ernesto Valverde's stock has fallen so low in the media's eyes that there is even talk of him being replaced, only weeks after being in such high esteem that he was being tipped to replace Frank Rijkaard at Camp Nou.

Incredible Downslide

Instead, the team embarked on a run of three wins in 16 matches that culminated on Thursday evening with their eighth consecutive game without tasting victory.

That run of form has seen Espanyol slip out of the top ten and leave them with no chance of qualifying for the Champions League, the UEFA Cup and now even the Intertoto Cup.

Their opponents this weekend have undergone the opposite season with Villarreal being tipped to finish in mid-table by most and to challenge for a fifth or sixth placed finish by the optimists.

Juan Román Riquelme was told before the season began that he would not be playing and it took until December before he was off-loaded on a permanent basis to Boca Juniors.

That saga threatened to cast a shadow over Villarreal's campaign, but instead the Argentinian was professional and did disrupt the squad and the newcomers and recovered players embarked on a marvellous year.

Robert Pirès missed the majority of his campaign after moving from Arsenal, having damaged his knee ligaments in pre-season two years ago, and his return has been a revelation.

New Talisman

The experienced Frenchman has had the same talismanic effect that Riquelme had and coach Manolo Pellegrini also added very wisely to the squad bringing in Nihat Kahveci and Giuseppe Rossi to bolster the attack.

Diego López appeared to be a lot of money for a goalkeeper at €6m, but within three months of arriving the former Real Madrid youth teamer was being tipped to move to one Europe's major clubs.

It has not all been plain sailing because there have been spells of inconsistency that could have derailed the team's push, but they recovered each time and their run-in has been impressive.

Real Madrid were briefly under pressure at the top, but just when Villarreal had a chance to really press los Merengues they, like Barcelona, failed to take advantage.

The Yellow Submarine's win in midweek at Recreativo allied with Barça's reverse in el Clásico against Real Madrid ensured that Pellegrini's team will be going into the Champions League via the front door, as one report put it.

A celebration is being planned for this encounter and while the home team celebrate what they have achieved, Espanyol will be forced to look at what might have been for them.

RECENT FORM


Capdevila: Madrid Deserve It
Pellegrini: We Must Maintain The Gap