Eibar vs Sporting Gijon Predictions

When they visited El Molinón just over a month ago, Eibar would’ve been hoping to have something to show for their efforts, though they failed to find the net, meaning that they now must win whilst keeping a clean sheet or otherwise win by three clear goals if they’re to progress to the next round. There’s work to be done José Luis Mendilibar’s men, that’s for sure.

Teams can easily lose away from home simply by not getting the rub of the green, though that certainly wasn’t the case when Eibar played away in the first leg. On that occasion, Gijon were deserving winners, as they were the more proactive side, while they also showed far more overall quality than their visitors, which is slightly worrying. Quite frankly, unless Eibar deliver a massive improvement on Thursday, then they won’t be in the next round.

Despite playing poorly in the first leg, Eibar may still be feeling confident ahead of this match. Like many teams, Mendilibar’s men have saved their best for when playing in front of a home crowd this season. Los Armeros have tasted defeat just twice at home during the current campaign, while they’ve won each of their last two at Ipurua. Their 3-0 thrashing over giants Real Madrid in their most recent home game should give Thursday’s hosts the confidence they need to attack this fixture.

Aside from gaining some pleasing results on their own patch of late, Eibar have also posted some encouraging underlying numbers. Thursday’s hosts are averaging 1.4 expected goals at Ipurua, while they’re giving up an average of just 0.82 at the other end. Considering that they’ve hosts the likes of Sociedad, Sevilla and Real Madrid already this season, such stats are encouraging.

In contrast, Gijon have not been so great on their travels. Thursday’s visitors have won just once away from home in the second division this season, while their stats aren’t overly encouraging, as they’re averaging just 0.79 expected goals for and are shipping 1.2 in defence. They’ve also kept just one clean sheet away from home.

Despite Gijon’s creativity woes away from home, they have often found the net, scoring in each of their last three travelling matches, while they’ve already proved that they have the credentials to get at Eibar. At the prices, ‘Both Teams to Score’ stands out. As their numbers suggest, Eibar can muster much more of an attacking threat at Ipurua, though the aggregate score-line means that they will have to leave themselves exposed at the other end.