Raul Tamudo could return to the Espanyol side for the Catalans' La Liga clash at home to Getafe on Sunday.

However teammate Ivan De La Pena has picked up a fresh injury and will be out of action for around two weeks.

Tamudo has featured in just two league games for Espanyol this season and looked unlikely to appear ever again for the Barcelona-based outfit following an unseemly dispute with the club over his contract in recent weeks.

However, the veteran striker has made peace with his employers - at least for now - and returned to action in the Copa del Rey second leg match against Getafe before the international break.

Espanyol's all-time record appearance holder and goalscorer was unable to inspire a revival in that match, after the Catalans had lost the first leg 2-0, but looks set to have the chance to gain revenge when Mauricio Pochettino's men face the same opponents tomorrow, this time in the league.

And Tamudo, the only player to have represented Espanyol on the pitch in all three of the club's stadiums, will hope to score his first-ever goal at Cornella-El Prat.

However, he will not benefit from the creative qualities of his long-time provider De La Pena, who is out with a fresh problem and misses tomorrow's match.

De La Pena has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons and the Espanyol captain will be out for around two weeks with a calf strain this time.

Meanwhile, Luis Garcia has been struggling with a stomach problem, although the Spain forward should be fit in time to face Getafe.

Ferran Corominas is definitely sidelined, though, as the striker continues to recover from a long-term injury.

Espanyol went on a seven-match unbeaten run in the league recently, but that came to an end with a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Sporting Gijon before the international break.

The Catalans were also rocked by their Copa del Rey exit to Getafe following a 2-0 defeat in Madrid and a sterile 1-1 draw at Cornella in the second leg, but defender Javi Chica believes things will be different tomorrow.

"That was a 180-minute tie and that changes everything," he said on Thursday.

"They came here with a very positive result from the first leg and that allowed them to play a certain way in our stadium, but the league is very different and I'm convinced we will see a very different encounter," he added.

Chica says Espanyol are keen to return to winning ways in the league as well after dominating at Sporting, but ultimately ending up with nothing.

"I think we can win and I'm convinced that we will - we are working really well and we should not be down just because of a couple of bad results," he added.

"We have to trust our playing philosophy which for the moment has given us good results," he said.

Espanyol currently lie in ninth place with 13 points, one more than Getafe.

Michel's side have been impressive at times this season, but erratic on other occasions.

The Madrid-based side have won four matches in the league, but have also lost six - including the past two - and dropped to 12th place after losing 2-0 at home to Deportivo La Coruna before the international break.

But following their recent success in the Copa del Rey against Espanyol, coach Michel admits he will employ the same gameplan tomorrow.

"Our gameplan will be identical to the one we used in the cup," he said yesterday.

"The idea was to treat it like a league match and that's how it worked out - we went for the match, got ahead and had control of the play; that's what we are going to try and do, independent of the competition we are playing in."

Mario Alvarez is available again after recovering from a bout of gastroenteritis, but Dani Parejo misses out after picking up an injury with Spain's under-21 side.

Fabio Celestini is also out.