Alright team, real talk about how I tackled figuring out Espanyol’s lineup against Rayo today. Total headache, honestly.
The Starting Point
First off, I grabbed my coffee – needed fuel. Opened up four browser tabs like a maniac. Had Espanyol’s official website up, checked their last five match reports religiously. Cross-referenced with local fan forums where proper die-hards hang out. Saw tons arguing over the midfield pairing already.
Diving Into The Details
Kept hitting two big roadblocks:
- First, that knucklehead Keidi Bare got slapped with a suspension after picking up way too many yellows. Just dumb. Leaves this gaping hole in midfield that needed plugging.
- Second, Denis Suárez – dude’s been playing hot potato with fitness all season. News was wishy-washy: “might be back,” “close to training.” Basically useless.
I literally spent like 20 minutes just staring at the manager’s past lineups like a madman trying to spot patterns. Felt like I was cracking a Da Vinci code or something.
Building My Prediction Brick by Brick
Okay, baseline felt safe in goal. Fernando Pacheco – concrete gloves. Defense practically picks itself: Cabrera and Calero just feel solid, with Omar and Olivan probably hugging the flanks.
Midfield is where I started sweating. Here’s where Bare being out wrecked my initial draft:
- Thought maybe Darder sits deeper? Feels risky.
- Could they chuck Exposito in there? Kid’s eager but green.
- Wildcard: Maybe throw Gragera into the deep end? Gave me the shakes just thinking about it.
Settled on Darder playing deeper alongside Gragera. Suárez missing forced this – hated it, but what can you do?
Up front felt easier. Javi Puado was a lock for me. Manager loves the guy. Then the big debate: Melamed or Braithwaite? Melamed’s link-up looked sharper lately, so I leaned his way, with Puado wider right.
Final Guess Before Kickoff
Stressed about that midfield for ages. Almost threw my prediction on Twitter, then chickened out. Went back, swapped Gragera for Exposito last minute – gut feeling maybe the manager trusts him more.
Ended up with this Frankenstein:
- Pacheco
- Omar – Calero – Cabrera – Olivan
- Darder – Exposito (yikes!)
- Puado – Melamed – Lozano
Felt flimsy. That midfield duo keeps me awake tonight, seriously. Could see Puado playing central too, flipping things upside down. Might be all wrong anyway. What you reckon?