Espanyol vs Real Mallorca preview - Espanyol eyeing momentum

Posted Friday, January 18, 2013 by PA

Espanyol will be looking to continue their recent improvement in form when they take on fellow strugglers Real Mallorca on Friday.

A run of two wins and three draws in the last six games has lifted Espanyol to 16th in the Primera Division, albeit just one point above tomorrow's opponents in 18th.

The only defeat in that sequence was also an understandable one - a 4-0 loss to Barcelona on January 6 - while Saturday's 1-0 win over Celta Vigo lifted them out of the relegation zone.

And new signing Martin Petrov believes he can help Espanyol achieve "salvation" by remaining in the top flight at the end of the season.

Petrov, who joined from English npower Championship side Bolton earlier this week on a deal until the end of the season with an option to extend, said: "My main goal is to help Espanyol to achieve salvation.

"Although I am 34 years old I have the strength of a 20-year-old and I can bring experience. I could not pass up this option at my age."

Petrov had been a peripheral figure at Bolton this season but added: "I trained hard. When you do not play regularly you train with more enthusiasm to be a starter. Bolton played in the FA Cup last week and I felt good.

"After playing in a team in the English second division this was a great opportunity for me. I want to show that I can still play football."

Mallorca have won just once in their last 10 Primera Division games, dropping to 18th in the table and suffering a 3-1 defeat at Valladolid last time out.

Coach Joaquin Caparros knows his side have to arrest their slide as soon as possible.

"The game is very important," he told a press conference. "We know we have to get between 25 and 30 points, and we need to start sooner rather than later because they give you confidence and allow us to not have a state of anxiety.

"We know we have to get a lot more points than we have to date."