There is a lot pressure on teams in the La Liga 2 Playoffs and that pressure is about to increase as we reach the playoff final.
The first leg of the Segunda Division playoff final between Real Oviedo and Espanyol will be played on the 16th of June at Estadio Nuevo Carlos Tartiere.
The hosts finished 6th in the regular season table on 64 points while the visitors finished in 4th place on 69 points.
Trabajo en 𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐏𝐎 🤜🏻🤛🏻#RealOviedo 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/QDzDUADa4v— Real Oviedo (@RealOviedo) June 14, 2024
Trabajo en 𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐏𝐎 🤜🏻🤛🏻#RealOviedo 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/QDzDUADa4v
Real Oviedo come into the game on the back of an excellent 2-0 win at Eibar in the second leg of their playoff semifinal.
With the score 0-0 at halftime, it was Real Oviedo who scored the first goal of the match and tie in the 59th minute. With Eibar needing to equalise, Real Oviedo scored their second goal in the 79th minute to send them through to the final.
The win at Eibar means Real Oviedo are undefeated in 3 of their 4 most recent fixtures, all of which have been played in the Segunda Division.
There was a 3-0 win at home over FC Andorra in the regular season and a 0-0 draw at home with Eibar in the playoff semifinal. The defeat came at Eibar on the final day of the regular season.
The stats show Real Oviedo have a good record of 27 undefeated games in their last 29 home encounters in the Segunda Division. There have been under 2.5 goals scored in 4 of their last 5 home league matches.
Espanyol travel to the Estadio Nuevo Carlos Tartiere having been held to a 0-0 draw at home by Sporting Gijon in the second leg of the playoff semifinal. As the game was ending, Espanyol were reduced to 10 players but there was not enough time left in the match for it to make any difference.
The draw with Sporting Gijon was enough to send Espanyol through to the playoff final as they won the first leg 1-0. Espanyol are undefeated in each of their last 18 games, all of which were played in the Segunda Division. However, they have won only 3 of their 10 most recent matches in the league.
Trends show 5 of Espanyol’s 6 most recent away Segunda Division games have ended in a draw. There have been under 2.5 goals scored in 7 of Espanyol’s 8 most recent away league fixtures.
Team news and Real Oviedo are without injured midfielder Santiago Cazorla. They also have doubts over the fitness of Mario Hernández, Rodrigo Tarín, and David Costas.
Espanyol make the trip without suspended defender Omar El Hilali. Eduardo Expósito is injured and there are doubts over the fitness of Omar Sadik.
Both teams will want to be in the tie come the second leg and that could lead to a tight first leg in Oviedo.
We predict under 2.5 goals to be scored in the game and given the strong home record of Real Oviedo and the undefeated run of Espanyol, this match could end level.