FOOTBALL - Coventry City to host La Liga side Espanyol in pre-season friendly - The Coventry Observer
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FOOTBALL - Coventry City to host La Liga side Espanyol in pre-season friendly

COVENTRY City will host La Liga side Espanyol in a pre-season friendly as part of the club’s preparations for the 2026/27 campaign.

The Sky Blues will entertain Espanyol at the Coventry Building Society Arena on Saturday, August 8 with kick-off at 5.30pm.

Espanyol finished 11th in La Liga last season under the management of Spanish coach Manolo Gonzalez.

Former Blackburn Rovers forward Tyrhys Dolan and DR Congo international Charles Pickel, an unused sub against England at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, feature in Espanyol’s squad.

The club only avoided relegation in the penultimate game of the 2025/26 campaign following a 2-1 victory at Osasuna.

Former Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino managed the club from 2009 to 2012.




Espanyol most recently won the Copa del Rey in 2005/06 and achieved promotion back to La Liga in 2023/24, spending the last two campaigns in Spain’s top-flight.

The game marks the second friendly the club have arranged in pre-season with Coventry to travel to Northampton Town on Saturday, July 18.


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