Espanyol vs Celta Vigo preview - Espanyol aim to build on cup win

Espanyol coach Sergio Gonzalez hopes his side can capitalise on their unexpected Copa del Rey triumph over Valencia in midweek by beating direct rivals Celta Vigo in La Liga.

The Galicians sit one point above Espanyol in the table, and after seeing his side wilt against other clubs in similar league positions to them this season, Sergio is desperate for another victory to build on the team's high spirits and take them higher up the table.

He told a press conference: "Football has given us another chance to take a big step forward.

"We had the chance to do that against Elche, Athletic and Eibar and I hope that this time we don't let it go to waste again, because if we win it will give us a huge boost.

"On the other hand, if we don't get the three points, what we did against Valencia will fade into the periphery."

Celta have not won a league game since the last time they were in Barcelona, stunning the Nou Camp with a 1-0 victory back in November, but Sergio is in no mood for charity.

"I don't want us to be anyone's aspirin, I want us to enrich ourselves with vitamins. We reached a high level of quality against Valencia and we are obliged to maintain that," added the coach.

Sergio welcomes back Lucas Vazquez, Salva Sevilla and Victor Alvarez and is only without defender Eric Bailly, who is at the African Nations Cup.

Celta's Levy Madinda is also at the tournament in Equatorial Guinea, while striker Charles is suspended and defender Hugo Mallo has been ruled out until March with a knee injury.

Eduardo Berrizo's side were cruelly knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Athletic Bilbao on away goals, but the Argentinian coach believes his team's 2-0 win at San Mames, although in vain, could help them towards their first win in nine league outings.

"Despite going out of the cup, the team are convinced they can win again," he told a press conference.

"These two games (the win at Athletic and the 1-1 draw with Valencia) have given me positive signs, we have recovered our spirits.

"Now we need to win in the league and we hope we can do that tomorrow. This is such a tight league and every point counts. We would be so happy if we could win in Barcelona."