Espanyol travel to A Coruna to face sixth-tier outfit San Tirso in the first round of the Copa del Rey on Thursday evening.
The winners of this contest will advance to the second round where they will be joined by 55 other clubs ahead of next month's draw.
Match preview
Since securing promotion from the Spanish second tier, Espanyol have endured a difficult start to life back in the top flight having lost seven of their opening 11 La Liga matches this term.
Los Periquitos have suffered defeat in five of their last six league games, including last weekend's 2-0 loss at home to Sevilla, and they currently sit 17th in the table, hovering just above the relegation zone by one point.
Manolo Gonzalez has acknowledged that his Espanyol side are paying the price for making several mistakes and he is determined to see his team return to winning ways in midweek, before they prepare for a daunting away encounter with La Liga leaders and Catalan rivals Barcelona on Sunday.
Espanyol, who celebrated their 124th anniversary on Monday, are yet to win away from home so far this season (D1 L4), but they have a strong record in the first round of the Copa del Rey, progressing in each of the last 21 seasons since losing 1-0 at Alicante back in 2002.
Los Periquitos will be regarded as firm favourites to come out on top against Thursday's opponents San Tirso, who are one of the lowest-ranked teams in this season's Copa del Rey.
The Mabegondo-based club won the Copa de A Coruna, Copa Diputacion and Supercopa de Galicia last season and they have since progressed to the first round proper of this year's Copa del Rey after beating Selaya 5-3 on penalties in the preliminary round, following a 1-1 draw in normal time.
Head coach Fabio Rodriguez admitted after that match that he broke down in tears after his side secured their place in the first round, and he is excited to see how his players will step up for the challenge against La Liga opposition on Thursday.
Since their penalty-shootout triumph with Selaya on October 9, San Tirso have picked up four points across three league games in Preferente de Galicia - Group 1, most recently winning 2-0 at home to Mino last weekend to help them climb up to eighth in the standings.
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