Espanyol won both meetings last season. Eibar begin their campaign at Ipurua after strengthening every area of the squad.
Eibar and Espanyol finished the last Liga F season just three points apart. Espanyol were 11th with 31 points, while Eibar finished 13th with 28. Both secured survival, although Eibar scored only 18 goals in their 30 matches.
The head-to-head record favoured Espanyol. Sara Monforte’s side won 2-1 at Ipurua and 2-0 at the Dani Jarque Training Centre, collecting six important points against a team from the same area of the table.
Iñaki Goikoetxea remains in charge of Eibar, but the squad has undergone considerable change. The club have made 13 signings, including Simona Botero and Ángeles del Álamo, who both arrive from Espanyol.
The Catalan side have also changed significantly, bringing in 14 players while retaining Sara Monforte and the rest of her coaching staff. They ended pre-season with a 2-0 victory over Villarreal through goals from Paula Gutiérrez and Cristina Baudet.
Eibar will look to improve their attacking output and prevent Espanyol from taking another early advantage in a meeting between two teams with the same immediate objective: putting distance between themselves and the relegation places.
SD Eibar vs RCD Espanyol
Saturday 29 August · 17:00 CEST
Ipurua
Where to watch: DAZN, RTVE Play and 3Cat