Sporting Gijon vs Valladolid Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

With their form on the road being fair less persuasive than their form on home soil, Valladolid knew that building a lead at Estadio José Zorrilla was essential, and that is exactly what they did. Sergio González probably won’t be too happy that his men conceded, though the fact that they atoned by scoring three goals of their own will have undoubtedly pleased the manager. The job is far from finished, but Saturday’s visitors have given themselves an excellent chance of progressing.

In contrast, despite scoring an away goal, Gijon have very much put themselves on the back foot. On their own patch, Rubén Baraja’s men will fancy themselves to do a better job, though with the aggregate score-line the way that it is, they’ve left little room to manoeuvre. If the hosts get on the front foot too much, they’ll likely be countered all too easily by a Valladolid side who don’t need asking twice in that respect.

Defending was the main problem for Gijon during the first leg and such issues aren’t likely to go away now that they’re required to chase the game. With a two-goal deficit to come back from, the hosts have no choice but to get on the front foot. They’re of course a useful side in the offensive third, especially at home – only two teams scored more home goals than Gijon during the regular season – but scoring goals without being caught out against a Valladolid team who scored the second most away goals during the regular campaign will be anything but simple.

From an attacking point of view, it’s not at all difficult to see the host thriving in this fixture. During the regular campaign, Gijon scored against all five of the other top six teams at home, while they scored more than once in no less than 14 of their 21 home matches. This is a side capable of scoring goals, make no mistake about it. However, keeping them out against a visiting team who’re even more adept at finding the net is likely to prove beyond them. Rojiblancos kept just two clean sheets in five home matches against top-six teams before entering the play-offs.

Having breached the hosts last week, the visitors will come here with their eyes on further goals. As the first game wore on, the break became a more viable option for Valladolid, so it’s easy to think that they’ll profit on the counter in this match too. Sergio González’s men found the net in all but one their five away matches against top-six teams during the regular season, while they made light work of scoring goals against a somewhat shaky Gijon back-line last week.

However, though Valladolid were rarely denied in terms of goals scored on their travels against the better teams, they did find clean sheets hard to come by. In fact, Sunday’s away team shut out just one of the other five top-six teams on the road.

All in all, with the way the tie is set up, coupled with the attacking strength of both, another high-scoring match is fancied. What’s more, at the current prices, it’s easy to feel that the possibility of a goal-filled game has been somewhat underestimated. Backing ‘Over 2.5 Goals & Both Teams to Score’ is the standout selection.