Espanyol bring a clear form advantage into this La Liga opener, their weighted last-five score of 6.89 out of 10 comfortably ahead of Sevilla's 5.56. The hosts remain unbeaten across their most recent five matches, collecting three wins and two draws while scoring 11 goals and conceding only three. That run includes competitive points secured with a 2-1 victory away to Osasuna in La Liga and a 1-1 draw at home to Real Sociedad, results that frame either end of a productive pre-season. Espanyol found the net in all five outings and kept clean sheets in two, the defensive solidity underpinning a 4-0 win at home to PAU and a 3-0 triumph away to Olot during their friendlies. Even the 1-1 draw at home to Sabadell, their most recent outing, extended a scoring streak that now covers every fixture in the sample.

Sevilla arrive in steadier but less convincing shape, their record across the same span showing two wins, one draw and two defeats. They managed just three goals in those five matches and scored in only two of them, though they also registered two clean sheets to keep the defensive numbers level with Espanyol's tally conceded. The visitors opened their pre-season with a 1-0 home win over Juventud Torremolinos before suffering a 0-1 reverse away to Cracovia Krakow and drawing 0-0 at Cordoba. A 2-1 home victory against AD Ceuta FC provided their most recent outing, but the broader picture shows a side that has struggled for attacking rhythm. Their final competitive result before the summer was a 0-1 defeat away to Celta Vigo, a match that highlighted the scoring difficulties now evident across the five-game window.

The head to head record over the last 10 meetings favours Sevilla with six wins to Espanyol's solitary victory, alongside three draws. Those 10 fixtures produced 3.0 goals per meeting, with both teams scoring in seven and over 2.5 goals landing in five. The most recent encounter saw Sevilla win 2-1 at home on 9 May 2026, while Espanyol's lone success came in a 2-1 home win on 24 November 2025. Three of the five itemised meetings were decided by a single goal, including a 1-1 draw on 25 January 2025 and Sevilla's 2-0 away win on 25 October 2024. The 3-2 Sevilla victory on 4 May 2023 completed the sequence, underlining a competitive pattern despite the overall tilt in results.

The form gap of 1.33 points in Espanyol's favour reflects not only the unbeaten run but the superior attacking output heading into the new campaign. Sevilla's historical edge in this fixture will count for something, yet their current struggles in front of goal and the hosts' perfect scoring record across five matches suggest the home side can exploit that vulnerability. With both teams finding the net in seven of the last 10 head to head contests, goals at both ends remain a strong possibility, but Espanyol's defensive resilience and the visitors' muted pre-season point toward a tighter affair than the 3.0 goals-per-meeting average might imply.