The second leg matches of the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League round of 32 take place this week with all the games being played on Thursday night. One of the earlier games to kick off features Espanyol as they host Wolverhampton Wanderers at the RCDE Stadium.
The first leg of this tie finished 4-0 in favour of the English Premier League team and they hold a significant advantage going into this match.
Espanyol continued their battle against relegation from La Liga on the weekend as they travelled to Real Valladolid. However, they lost the game 2-1 and remain bottom of the league as a result. Espanyol are currently 5 points adrift of safety and there is a genuine chance they could be playing in the second tier next season.
The defeat at Real Valladolid means Espanyol have won only one of their last 7 matches in all competitions. They have failed to win any of their last 3 games and in addition to the 2 defeats above they were held to a draw by Sevilla in La Liga. The only crumb of comfort for Espanyol ahead of this game is that the home form is better than their away form.
Trends show Espanyol are undefeated in their last 4 home matches in all competitions. That run includes one victory over Real Mallorca in La Liga plus 3 draws, all of which were also in La Liga. Espanyol lost their previous home match in the Europa League which was a 1-0 defeat at the hands of CSKA Moscow.
Wolverhampton Wanderers travel to Spain in good spirits having comfortably defeated Norwich City 3-0 at home in the Premier League on the weekend. That result means they are now undefeated in their last 4 games in all competitions with 2 wins and 2 draws. The 2 draws came against Manchester United away and Leicester City at home in the Premier League, with both games ending 0-0.
Having suffered a run of 3 straight defeats away from home in all competitions, Wolverhampton Wanderers have won one and drawn one of their last 2 matches on the road. The victory came against Southampton in the Premier League.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have been very impressive away from home in the Europa League this season and are undefeated in their 6 games. They have won 5 of those matches and have scored 3 or more goals in 4 of them.
Looking ahead to the team news and Espanyol could be without Raul de Tomas and Sébastien Corchia. Oier Olazabal and Víctor Campuzano may return to the team following injury.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have only one doubt with wing-back Jonny Castro struggling with an ankle injury. There may be some changes from the team which played in the first leg due to the advantage have they have following the victory.
Espanyol have little choice but to attack if they want to have any chance of remaining in the Europa League this season. However, Wolverhampton Wanderers love to play on the counter-attack so that approach would suit them nicely. Therefore, we could see an away victory with both teams scoring.