Granada to progress past Lokomotiv Tbilisi

23/09/20 2144

On Thursday evening, Granada host Lokomotiv Tbilisi in the third qualifying round of the Europa League, as the home side look to continue what has been a highly promising campaign so far.

The Granada bandwagon is showing no signs of an end. Diego Martinez’s team have followed up last season’s seventh-place finish in La Liga with a stellar start to the current campaign.

The Rojiblancos have not only won their opening league games of the season but also hammered Albanian team Teuta Durres 4-0 in the second qualifying round of this competition.

Granada have been especially strong at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes of late, winning their previous three home games in all competitions, while scoring two goals in each of the home wins.

The home side may well be inexperienced in European football, but under Martinez, they are a team who are on the up. In former Tottenham and Villarreal star Roberto Soldado, they have one player who is full of European experience.

Lokomotiv Tbilisi arrives in Spain on the back of a 2-1 defeat against Chikhura, which ended a promising run of form for the Georgian team of four wins and a draw from their previous five competitive outings. They are currently fifth place in the Georgian top-flight table after 11 gameweeks.

Unlike their opponents, the visitors are experienced at this level, having featured in the Europa League in past seasons. However, this is their first foray into the competition since 2005.

In ten matches in European football’s secondary competition, they have won just three games. Two of those wins have come in this seasons competition, as they have beaten Universitatea Craiova and Lokomotiv Moscow to set up this tie.

Forebet predicts that Granada will maintain their good recent form by recording a victory in a high-scoring encounter.