Image Source: Alamy Stock Photo
2025-26 Spanish La Liga
Matchday 12
Espanyol v Villarreal
RCDE Stadium
Cornella de Llobregat, Spain
Saturday, 8 November 2025
Kick-off is at 22h00
Villarreal will be looking to keep pace with the
La Liga frontrunners when they head up the northeastern coast of Spain to face Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium on Saturday, November 8 in the late kick-off.
The Yellow Submarine have made an impressive start to the season, losing just two of their opening 11 matches to emerge as the closest challengers to Real Madrid and Barcelona in the title race.
Marcelino's side are unbeaten in their last three outings since suffering a 3-1 defeat to Los Blancos on October 4 and they've closed to within two points of the Blaugrana in third place following a 4-0 rout of Rayo Vallecano on November 1.
The Castellon outfit also boast the joint-best defensive record in the league alongside Real, Atletico Madrid and Alaves after conceding just 10 goals in 11 games.
Periquitos enjoyed a strong start to proceedings in 2025-26, winning three of their first four matches before hitting a bump in the road towards the end of September.
Manolo Gonzalez's side picked up just two points out of a possible 12 which included defeats to the league leaders and Real Betis, but they bounced back with successive wins against Real Oviedo and Elche.
A 2-1 reverse to Alaves on November 2 saw them pushed down to sixth position after Real Betis beat Real Mallorca 3-0 later that same day to move up to fifth in the table.
Villarreal have a good record against Espanyol, winning their last five meetings, but Marcelino doesn't want to get complacent after putting in a strong performance at home to Rayo.
"We were defensively solid and barely conceded anything. We scored good goals, so I'm very pleased. It's not easy at all to beat Rayo 4-0, especially given their good run of form," the Spaniard said.
"That's three consecutive clean sheets for us, and this result confirms that we're in a very good moment."
Head-to-Head (Last Five La Liga Meetings)
Matches - 5
Espanyol wins - 0
Villarreal wins - 5
Draws - 0
La Liga Matchday 12 fixtures:
Friday, November 7
22h00: Elche v Real Sociedad
Saturday, November 8
15h00: Girona v Alaves
17h15: Sevilla v Osasuna
19h30: Atletico Madrid v Levante
22h00: Espanyol v Villarreal
Sunday, November 9
15h00: Athletic Bilbao v Real Oviedo
17h15: Rayo Vallecano v Real Madrid
19h30: Real v Mallorca v Getafe
19h30: Valencia v Real Betis
22h00: Celta Vigo v Barcelona
Bet on La Liga football with Betway
Sign up at Betway and enjoy solid action and heart-racing thrills when you bet on soccer leagues such as the Spanish La Liga, the English Premier League, the Italian Serie A and many more
Join our Telegram Channel
Get way more with Betway. Enjoy the thrill of sports betting, casino games, and more. Join our community for tips, bonuses, and exciting offers. #BetwaySquad
For all the latest sports news, betting tips and promotions follow Betway on Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, Instagram and YouTube. Download the Betway App