Espanyol coach Mauricio Pochettino has called on his players to forget their cup disappointment against Mirandes in midweek.
Espanyol desperate to bounce back from cup woe
Espanyol coach Mauricio Pochettino has called on his players to forget their cup disappointment against Mirandes in midweek and concentrate on league matters against Real Mallorca on Saturday.
Pochettino's men were minutes away from a place in the semi-finals before conceding a stoppage-time winner to the Segunda Division B side but are still well in contention for a European place as they currently sit in fifth in La Liga, just three points off the final Champions League slot.
He told a press conference: "It is an experience we must learn from. The team is mentally and physically fine and it is our obligation to forget what happened. We can't allow ourselves to cry about the past, it hurt but it is gone.
"The match against Mallorca will be very intense. I expect Mallorca will play a 4-4-2 and look to hit us quickly on the counter-attack."
Espanyol will again be short of attacking options as Alvaro Vasquez, Sergio Garcia and Walter Pandiani remain out, so Pochettino is likely to go with the same side that beat Granada last weekend.
Mallorca gained some breathing space from the relegation zone by winning at Rayo Vallecano last weekend but assistant coach Luci Martin does not believe the Islanders can be complacent.
"Our duty is not to value the 22 points we have because there are teams above us that have done better," he said.
"We don't know how the second half of the season will go. The advantage that we have could be a lot better and therefore we can't make any more mistakes."
Elimination
Martin also does not believe that both sides' elimination from the cup this week will have any impact on the game. Mallorca crashed out 3-0 on aggregate against Athletic Bilbao.
He said: "Both sides are going to into the game thinking only about the league. They have the aspiration to move up in the table and we are looking to create a wider gap between ourselves and the bottom three.
"When players are knocked out of the cup they are desperate to play the next match."
Pau Cendros returns from suspension for the visitors but Fernando Tissone misses out after collecting his fifth booking of the season last weekend.
Best bet: Draw - 12/5
