Espanyol come into this one with the weight of a tough recent spell on their shoulders. The brief shows a 1-1 friendly draw with Sabadell back in July — hardly a statement of intent, but it's pre-season, so we won't read too much into it. What matters is that Manolo Gonzalez is still in charge, and the club have stuck by him despite a historically poor few months. That loyalty could pay off — or it could be the rope that hangs them. At the RCDE Stadium, in front of their own fans on Matchday 1, there's a real hunger to start fresh. The stats from the brief are telling: Espanyol have failed to cover the -0.5 line in 9 of their last 10 home games. That's a brutal run. But it also means the law of averages is screaming for a correction.

Levante, meanwhile, arrive with a spring in their step. They beat Albacete 2-1 in a friendly on August 1, and the brief mentions they've done some fairly impressive business in the summer transfer window. They're a side that finished last season strongly — the fans were left wanting more, and the wait for the new campaign has been long. They've covered the +0.5 line in 7 of their last 10 games, which tells you they're competitive, hard to beat, and rarely blown away. But here's the thing: Levante are a Segunda División side. Espanyol are La Liga. That gap in quality is the whole ballgame.