The first news of Luis Blanco, with less than 12 hours as Espanyol coach officially, has been the announcement of the squad list before a match at the RCDE Stadium, custom that Vicente Moreno did not have. The subsidiary’s coach, who will return to his post once the championship is over, has included four homegrown players on the list with several casualties and some new first-team players.
Absences are known. Aleix Vidal and Yangel Herrera will not play due to suspension after their last game against Alavés. Keidi Bare is also still out, for obvious reasons as he is long-term injured, Adrià Pedrosa, Óscar Gil and Manu Morlanes. If Nany Dimata, who had been out for weeks, has entered, so the Belgian may have options to play again for a few minutes in the second half.
The four reserve team players making the list are both new and familiar faces. Joan Garcia, who has played two games in the First Division, is a classic of the calls, as is Jofre Carreras, who was decisive in the only victory away from home for the Blue and Whites, curiously in Valencia, by 1-2. Rubén Sánchez already played the previous week in Vitoria and Dani Villahermosa debuts, who has been one of the best players of the season with B.
The full list consists of Diego López, Oier Olazábal, Joan García, Miguel Llambrich, Dídac Vilà, Sergi Gómez, Fernando Calero, Leandro Cabrera, Sergi Darder, David López, Fran Mérida, Óscar Melendo, Nico Melamed, Tonny Vilhena, Javi Puado, Adrián Embarba, Raúl de Tomás, Jofre Carreras, Loren Morón, Rubén Sánchez, Villahermosa, Dimata and Wu Lei.