In the 18th round of LaLiga, we will see Espanyol hosting Leganes in their 9th home match of the season.
Espanyol is currently 14th in the league with an overall record of 6-3-8 and 0-0-5 in the last 5 games. In fact, Espanyol has lost all of their last 6 league matches. At home, Espanyol is holding a 5-0-3 record, however, they are currently on a 3 game losing streak. In the course of those 3 games, Espanyol has lost to Girona (1:3), Barcelona (0:4) and Betis (1:3). In their most recent match, Espanyol played against Atletico Madrid at Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid. In the match, it was Espanyol who was the dominant team. They had 63% ball possession, 18 goal attempts and 4 shots on goal, while Atl. madrid had 37% ball possession, 8 goal attempts and 5 shots on goal. Despite 18 goal attempts. Espanyol failed to score a goal, instead, it was Atl. Madrid who scored an opener in the 56th minute, when they were awarded a penalty kick. That was also the only goal we saw in the 90th minute. Final score: 1:0.
The visiting side, Leganes are currently 16th in the league with 19 points and a 4-7-6 record. In their last 5 games, Leganes has won 2; against Alaves (1:0), Valladolid (2:4) and drew the next 3 matches against; Getafe (1:1), Celta Vigo (0:0) and most recently against Sevilla (1:1). Those results are quite good for a team like Leganes who tend to finish most of their matches with a draw. Looking at their away form, Leganes is 1-3-5, with a 1-3-1 in their last 5 games. In their most recent match against Sevilla, Leganes scored an opening goal only 5 minutes into the 1st half and in fact were the better side for the first 45 minutes as a whole. Leganes had 43% ball possession, 7 goal attempts and 2 shots on goal, while Sevilla had 57% ball possession, 4 goal attempts and 1 shot on goal. The second half continued in a similar fashion, Leganes had slightly more ball possession (51%), 6 goal attempts and 2 shots on goal. Sevilla on the other side had 4 goal attempts and only 1 shot on goal in the second half. Despite Sevilla only managed to shoot towards the goal once, it was enough for them to score a goal in the 90’+1 minute which secured a point for them and saved them from being humiliated against Leganes. Final score: 1:1.
Leganes is coming from a disappointing match against Sevilla. The result is still decent, the disappointing part is the late goal they conceded which prevented them to win against the 3rd team in the league. Leganes is still playing decent in the recent matches and there is an improvement in their form. Still, they are at the bottom part of the league and if they wish to climb to mid-table, they need to take every match seriously. Today they will be going against a team that is on 3 games losing streak at home. In the span of the last 5 home matches, Espanyol scored 10 and conceded 11 goals which is not terrible, however in the last 3 matches, they scored only 2 and conceded 10 goals. The AH line is set at 0.5 and with what we have seen from these two teams, I believe this match could easily end in a draw. For that reason, I will back Leganes +0.5 as I believe they will end yet another match in a draw, thus making it 4 in a row.
Prediction: Leganes +0.50 Asian Handicap
Odds: 1.90 Pinnacle
