Espanyol vs Zorya Predictions

Not only did Espanyol make light work of beating Icelandic opposition over two legs, but they also found it easy to get the better of Swiss side Luzern during the previous round, as they recorded a 6-0 aggregate win. Zorya narrowly came through against CSKA Sofia and appear to have their work cut out once again.

It wasn’t difficult for Espanyol to get the better of Icelandic outfit Stjarnan, while David Gallego’s men were also largely untested by Luzern during the last round. Nevertheless, the Spaniards still had to get the job done, and get the job done they did, by registering a pair of 3-0 wins. Both home and away against Luzern, Espanyol looked dangerous in terms of both creativity and end-product, as they created 1.69 and 2.4 expected goals.

However, for all they have looked strong going forward, it’s not terribly difficult to envisage the hosts finding life tougher against Zorya, who’ve looked strong defensively in qualifying.

The Ukrainian outfit made it through to the play-offs thanks to a narrow win over CSKA Sofia. In their two games against the Bulgarians, Zorya didn’t exactly look imperious in the final third, but they did do a good job of both resisting and preventing their opponents from creating, as they conceded just one goal in 180+ minutes of football. They also surrendered just 0.53 and 0.85 expected goals for.

Much as they did during the last round, Zorya will look to stay compact and take the sting out of the game, so it will be interesting to see how Espanyol get on.

From a betting point of view, it must be said that this is one of the less appealing Europa League games, though those looking for an angle should try ‘Espanyol to Win & Under 3.5 Goals’.

For all the Spaniards impressed going forward during the previous round, at no point did they score over three goals. Against a Zorya side that has looked less than expansive going forward, the La Liga outfit should have the quality to gain an aggregate lead ahead of their trip to Ukraine, but if we consider the defensive efforts of the visitors, it’s easy to feel that a relatively low-scoring home win has been slightly underestimated.