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Opposition lowdown: Elche
RCD Espanyol's next opponents at the RCDE Stadium are Elche
RCD Espanyol return to the RCDE Stadium as they host Elche on Sunday.
Coming straight off the back of midweek action, both sides are aiming to bounce back from defeats: Espanyol away to Osasuna on Thursday, with Elche beaten by LaLiga leaders Real Madrid a day earlier.
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Name: Elche CF
Nickname: Los Franjiverdes (The Green stripes)
Manager: Jorge Almirón
Stadium: Martínez Valero – 33,732 capacity
Last match: L 3-0 vs Real Madrid
Last season: 13th
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Last meeting
Rewind to the start of 2022 to find the most recent encounter between these two, which took place at the RCDE Stadium in early January.
Elche came away with a 2-1 win that day, scoring twice in the opening 14 minutes to seal the win away from home. In fact, Espanyol are vying for their first home win against the Alicante side since March 2014.
Key player
New striker Ezequiel Ponce is one of only two players to have played every match so far this season for Elche, alongside goalkeeper Édgar Badía.
Joining in the summer from Spartak Moscow, the 25-year-old striker has scored twice for his new club, contributing to a third of Elche’s goals alone in LaLiga.
Club links
An academy product of the Ciutat Esportiva Dani Jarque who went on to play for Elche, Javi Márquez was a midfielder who represented both clubs throughout his career.
Márquez made it to the first team at Espanyol during the first season at the RCDE Stadium, playing over 50 times in the blanquiazul shirt. He joined Elche on loan from his new club Mallorca in 2013, spending a season in total at the Estadio Jorge Almirón.