Our prediction for this Copa del Rey match:
A place in the Copa del Rey last 32 will be at stake when Atletico Paso and Espanyol square off against each other at Municipal de El Paso. The hosts have been having their ups and downs of late, with the team beating Montijo, losing to CD Coria, while sharing the spoils with Cerdanyola in Segunda B. The host are likely to adopt a defence-minded approach in Tuesday’s clash, but preventing the Catalans from finding the net is easier said than done.
Meanwhile, los Periquitos rolled over Rincon 3-0 in their Copa del Rey opener. Espanyol have been anything but impressive in the La Liga this term, but we predict that they will make it to the next round of the Spanish Cup without any difficulties. There are no fresh injury worries in the away team ahead of the Copa del Rey game. Martin Braithwaite is back from international duty.
Highlighted Player (Benjamin Lecomte):
Benjamin Lecomte is a French goalkeeper who started playing football at the age of six. Lecomte was born in Paris on April 26, 1991 and in 1997 he joined Arcueil Municipal football academy. After spending eight years at the club he joined Antony Sports in 2006 and four years later he moved to Niort. Finally, he continued his footballing development at Lorient.
The 186-cm-tall shoot-stopper played 22 games Lorient B before making his first-team debut in October 2010 in a Coupe de la Ligue match against AS Monaco. In January 2011 Benjamin Lecomte signed a professional contract with les Merlus and it has to be noted that he made 119 appearance in the league for the club from 2010 to 2017.
In 2017 he moved to Montpellier, signing a four-year deal with the Ligue 1 outfit. The Montpellier goalkeeper has 2 caps for France U20 team, but he has yet to make his debut for the senior team.
Highlighted Team (Espanyol):
Espanyol are a Catalan club that plays in Spanish La Liga. Espanyol were founded in 1900 and their original name was Sociedad Espanola de Football. In 1901 the Catalan club changed its name to Club Espanol de Futbol. Los Periquitos used to play in bright yellow shirts in the past, but current colour of the team’s home kit is blue and white.
Espanyol’s fiercest rivals are Barcelona and the two teams face each other in the Catalan derby (Derbi barceloni). Espanyol have always been in Barca’s shadow, but it has to be noted that los Periquitos have won four Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup trophies).
The likes of Raul Tamudo, Jose Maria, Antonio Argiles and Mauricio Pochettino are players with most appearances for the Catalan outfit. Espanyol play their home games at Estadio Cornella-El Prat and the capacity of the stadium is 40,500. Los Periquitos have never participated in the Champions League.