Espanyol vs Lucerne Predictions

Espanyol put in an excellent showing in La Liga last season, improving on their 11th place finish in 2017/18 to finish 7th in the table, subsequently qualifying for the Europa League and giving themselves a massive boost of confidence. This was their best finish in La Liga since their 5th place haul in 2005, and it marks their first appearance in Europe since 2007.

That year they made it all the way to the Europa League Final, only to be beaten by fellow Spaniards and Europa League specialists Sevilla on penalties. Whether they can put in another showing like that is up for debate, but based on their recent performances they do have a great chance of making the knockout stages.

Their first foray into continental action saw them demolish Icelandic side Stjarnan 7-1 on aggregate, and they followed that last week with a convincing 3-0 win away to Luzern. That puts them in a splendid position coming into the second leg, and not many will be expecting them to be in any danger of elimination.

Luzern’s season has been going for nearly a month now, so match fitness is one advantage they should have against the Spanish side. However, that’s about all there is for the Swiss team in terms of advantages. Everywhere else they are truly outgunned.

Luzern opened their season with 3 wins and a draw in all competitions, but the last couple of weeks have seen them drop off the boil entirely. Swiss Super League defeats to Servette and Thun flank that 3-0 first leg hammering against Espanyol, leaving them on a 3 match losing streak and without a goal to show for their efforts over that period.

Their European record doesn’t breed confidence either. Luzern are by no means regulars in Europe, but their periodic involvement in the Europa League has yielded 5 defeats, 1 draw, and 1 win from their 7 away matches. They have failed to score in all 5 of those losses, and now face an Espanyol side who have shown excellent defensive fortitude lately.

The hosts have kept a clean sheet in 5 of their last 6 competitive matches, including the away leg in Switzerland. All things considered, we think backing an Espanyol Win to Nil looks great value here, and we’re going for a repeat of the first leg scoreline with our 3-0 prediction.