Espanyol vs Luzern 16/08/19

16 August 2019

Espanyol host Luzern to the RCDE Stadium for the return leg of their Europa League Qualifiers tie confident of sealing their place in the fourth round following a comfortable 3-0 win in the reversed fixture.

The hosts had no problems going past Stjarnan in the previous EL qualifying round, as they’ve dumped the Icelandic outfit 7-1 on aggregate. Periquitos are enjoying a purple patch of form having racked up a 15-game unbeaten run ahead of this match (W10, D5). Free-scoring Espanyol side has found the net in all 15 of those games, bagging 2+ match goals 12 times along the way. Blanquiazules can also rely on a stubborn defense that has allowed over 1.5 match goals only twice across the same period, keeping a clean sheet six times though. If Espanyol win here, it will probably be accompanied by at least two goals in Luzern’s net, as all six of their last home triumphs across all competitions have seen them score multiple goals.

The visitors have, meanwhile, suffered three consecutive defeats ahead of this clash, all of which have seen them fail to find the back of the net. For Luzern, goals have been in short supply lately, as they’ve scored just four goals in their last seven outings, struggling to get on the scoresheet four times in the process. Furthermore, none of those seven matches has seen both teams score with just two of them featuring goals in both halves. Also, none of Luzern’s last seven away games in all competitions has ended in a draw (W3, L4) with only two of them witnessing goals at both ends.