Espanyol – Las Palmas Prediction & Picks (28.04.2018)

Espanyol and Las Palmas meet at RCDE Stadium, in a game for the 35th round of the First Division. In the last direct match for this edition of the league, on 17-12-2017, the two teams tied (2-2). The history of recent direct confrontations is favorable to the home team, which records 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in the last 5 matches. In this game the home factor may be decisive, since both teams present considerable differences in the results achieved at home and as a visitor.

Espanyol:

The home team is currently in the 16th position, with 39 points won, after 9 wins, 12 draws and 13 losses. In the penultimate match, they lost in a home match against Eibar, by (0-1). In the last match, they won in an away match against Girona, by (0-2). This is a team that usually makes good use of the home advantage, stronger with the help of its supporters, since in the last 30 matches they register 3 wins, 5 draws and 7 losses in away matches; against 6 victories, 4 draws and 5 defeats in his stadium. In the last 10 home league matches Espanyol has won 3, tied 4 and lost 3, for which they have won 13 points out of 30 possible. In their home league matches the most frequent result at half-time was the 0-0 (8 out of 17 matches). In their home matches there is a tendency for few goals, since 13 of the last 17 matches for this competition have ended with Under 2,5 goals. In 34 matches in the competition, they suffered the first goal 17 times and only managed 1 comeback. There is 1 period that stands out in the last 17 home matches for this competition: they have suffered 5 of their 14 goals between minutes (31′-45 ‘).

Espanyol come to this game motivated, after a triumph outsider, by 0-2, in the visit to the land of Girona: Gerard Moreno scored two goals in the game, allowing his team to conquer the three points. The Spaniard Gerard Moreno is the player responsible for putting the adversary’s defenses into meaning, since his highest quality is the finalization. The greatest valence of the locals in their stadium are the counterattacks, being that it has fast and strong players in the hand to hand. The coach of the premises will not be able to count on Pablo Piatti, Óscar Duarte and Diego López, for being injured.

Las Palmas:

The away team is currently in the 19 th position of the league, with 21 points won, after 5 wins, 6 draws and 23 losses. In the penultimate match, they lost in an away match against Real Betis, by (1-0). In the last match, they lost in a home match against Deportivo Alavés, by (0-4). This is a team that usually makes good use of the home advantage, stronger with the help of its supporters, since in the last 30 matches they register 1 win, 4 draws and 10 losses in away matches; against 3 wins, 3 draws and 9 losses at their stadium. In the last 10 away matches for the championship, Las Palmas have 3 draws and 7 losses, so they have won 3 points out of 30 possible.

For this competition, they have not won any of the last 15 away matches. In their away league matches the most frequent result at half-time was the 0-0 (8 out of 17 matches). They have not been very strong defensively, since they have suffered goals in 9 of the last 10 matches for this competition. In 34 matches in this tournament, they suffered the first goal 23 times and only managed 1 comeback.

The Las Palmas comes to this unmotivated day, after a homemade snub, by 0-4, at the reception to Alavés. It is possible that the visiting team prefer the right side flank to attack, taking advantage of the depth offered by the right lateral defender Simon. Despite being a team that likes to play in their own midfield, it also gets out very easily for the counterattack. Of note that at the defensive moment, Las Palmas is usually a less aggressive team, giving some space to the opponent. The coach of the visitors will not be able to count on Emenike, Gabriel Peñalba and Pedro Bigas, for being injured.