1st and 3rd goes head-to-head in the Spanish second division as Almeria and Espanyol lock horns. Read on for our expert tips and predictions.

With a hard-fought 2-1 victory back in December, Espanyol stretched their unbeaten run in this fixture to four games. As such, they head into this game with a superior head-to-head record of six win in the last 13 encounter compared to their opponents’ six victories.

Highly-anticipated encounter on the cards

Almeria look to get back to winning ways following back-to-back losses against Rayo Vallecano and Real Zaragoza. What’s more, they finished both matches with 10 men. As such, they would certainly need to be more cautious of the bookings if they’re to challenge the automatic promotion spots.

Espanyol’s two points lead ag the summit of the standings would be out to test this on Monday as a loss for them and a win for Mallorca would cause them to surrender the top spot. However, they look like a side in good form with five games on the bounce including a close 2-1 win at home to Leganes last time out. Can they make it six victories in a row ?

Almeria vs Espanyol Prediction: 1-2

The home side are currently on the rough side of things as they look to get back to winning ways following two straight losses. However, doing that against the best side in the league would certainly be difficult. As such, we would be siding with the visitors for their sixth straight league victory.