Espanyol vs Wolverhampton Prediction Betting Tips & Match Prediction
Espanyol vs Wolverhampton Prediction
After a fantastic 4-0 first leg win, Wolves look all but assured of qualifying for the next round in the Europa League. What bets stand out for the second leg? Let’s see what the stats are suggesting for this one.
Recent Form
Wolves have enjoyed a fairly successful season so far. Managing to combine a Europa League run with maintaining a top half Premier League place, Wolves have surpassed many expectations once again.
Their 4-0 thrashing of Espanyol, though, was only their second win in eight in all competitions. Previous to the first leg, they had found goals hard to come by, scoring just five goals in their previous seven games.
Espanyol’s recent form tells a similar story. Prior to the game at Molineux, they had won just three of their previous nine games. Diogo Jota’s hattrick, along with a goal from Ruben Neves, means that the Spanish side will now need a miracle to progress to the next stage in the Europa League.
Espanyol v Wolves Recent Meetings
The meeting at Molineux was the first ever between these two sides.
Espanyol v Wolves Stats & Analysis
The Espanyol win was the second consecutive Europa League game where Jota has scored a hattrick. A phenomenal record, the Portuguese striker has now scored nine goals in 11 matches in Europe this season.
Espanyol need to score at least five goals to progress, something that they last managed in November. In this competition, Espanyol beat Ludogorets by six goals to nil. However, that was the first time since their La Liga win over Malaga in 2018 where the Spanish side had scored more than three goals in any competitive game.
The first leg was the first time that Wolves had scored the first goal in any game since December. However, expecting them to fail to qualify is a hard sell. Wolves haven’t conceded more than three goals in any game since 2019, where Chelsea put five past them, a run stretching back 33 games.
Espanyol v Wolves Bets
As you’d expect with a 4-0 lead, Wolves are huge favourites to progress to the next round. You’re unlikely to get longer odds than 1.001 for Wolves to reach the next round. Espanyol are priced way out at 67.0 to progress.
As for the second leg itself, the odds on both sides to win are similar. Expect a price of around 2.70 for the Spanish side to win the second leg, with Wolves slight favourites at 2.60. The draw is at 3.20.
Of course, Espanyol won’t feel this tie is over. If they can score early, the pressure might creep on Wolves. However, you’d expect a side who has kept three clean sheets in their last six games to restrict their opponents chances somewhat. We can expect goals in the second half, particularly if Espanyol throws caution to the wind, which they will need to do to stand any chance of making the next round. Over 1.5 goals in the second half is priced at 2.25.
