Espanyol face a stiffer preseason test on Tuesday evening when they take on Pau FC – a French Ligue 2 side – at the Estadi Municipal de Peralada, with kick-off scheduled for 19:30 CEST and the match broadcast on Esport3.
Step Up from the Olot Opener
As Mundo Deportivo’s Anna Cordovilla reports, the fixture represents a deliberate elevation in difficulty following Saturday’s convincing 0-3 win over Olot in the pericos’ first friendly of the summer. Pau FC operate in French second-division football and constitute a more demanding examination of where Manolo González’s squad currently stands, both physically and tactically.
The session at Olot gave González the chance to run every available player through their paces, with one notable exception: a group of names widely expected to leave this summer – José Gragera, Miguel Rubio, José Salinas, Pablo Ramón and Antoniu Roca – did not feature, and Cordovilla reports that pattern is likely to be repeated tonight.
Loanees and New Signings Push Their Cases
For the players who did feature at Olot, the encouraging signs were clear. Forwards Bauza and Marcos Fernández both scored, while Roger Hinojo and Javi Hernández also impressed, with all four rated by the club’s correspondent as having performed at a high level. Tonight offers a further platform for those returning loanees to strengthen their claims for a first-team place ahead of the new La Liga season.
Attention will also fall again on the three signings arrived so far: Àlex Calatrava, Hartman and Moscardo. Calatrava in particular made a positive first impression at Olot, and the coaching staff will be watching to see whether that performance was a statement of intent or simply an easy warm-up against modest opposition.
A Familiar Face in the Pau Ranks
There is an added subplot to tonight’s game. Pau FC winger Giovani Versini, 22, is reported as a player who could have been on Espanyol’s radar this summer due to his Ligue 2 campaign, and Omar Sadik – the Espanyol forward now on loan at Ceuta for the coming season – spent last year at Pau, giving him first-hand knowledge of Versini’s qualities.
Espanyol’s preseason block in Navata also includes a Saturday morning friendly against Sabadell at the Ciudad Deportiva, now confirmed for a 10:30 kick-off rather than the originally scheduled 20:30. Those controlled early-summer tests familiar to other La Liga sides will give way to a more demanding English tour in the final weeks of July and into August before the pericos open their Liga campaign at the RCDE Stadium.
