Unlike the English League, reserve teams in Spain play in the same football pyramid as their senior team rather than a separate league. However, reserve teams cannot play in the same division as their senior team and are no longer able to compete in the Copa del Rey.
In 1991 the team changed its denomination to the Cristinenc-Espanyol, being renamed the Real Club Deportivo Espanyol B three years later, while also gaining reserve team status for Espanyol.[1] It fluctuated between the fourth and the third levels in the following decades, the longest spell being five years, with a second position in the 2001–02 season. The Catalan outfit failed to promote during the team's three visits to the playoffs.
In the 2009–10 Espanyol B finished in 16th position, above the relegation zone, and dropped down a division in the relegation playoffs.