Wolverhampton continue their UEFA Europa League adventure with the first knockout round, the Premier League side host LaLiga outfit Espanyol at Molineux Stadium on Thursday evening for the first leg of their last-32 tie. The two sides have never met before, obviously, since both have been absent from European football lately. However, Wolverhampton did meet Espanyol's local rivals Barcelona in an European competition, it happened in 1960 in the Champions' Cup quarter-finals and the Catalan team won 4-0 at home and 5-2 in England.
Wolverhampton are doing well in their first participation in an European competition after 40 years, they finished second in Group K but had a few impressive performances along the way. They are also doing well in the Premier League, they have collected consecutive goalless draws against Manchester United and Leicester and are eighth in the league table. Ruben Vinagre is the only injury concern for head coach Nuno Espirito Santo ahead of this match, so Wolverhampton will surely field their stronger eleven in order to have the best chance of collecting a reassuring result ahead of the second leg.
Espanyol have qualified for the UEFA Cup a few times during the past decade, and they even managed to reach the final in 2007 but lost it on penalties against fellow Spanish team Sevilla. This time they finished top of the table in Group H, even though they won just three of their six matches. Last week they secured a good 2-2 LaLiga draw at Sevilla, but that result didn't help them to move away from the bottom of the table. They have won just 4 of their 24 league matches this season and relegation is a real concern, but the UEFA Europa League campaign could restore some pride and confidence if it goes well. Sebastien Corchia is injured and won't be available for this match.
Probable line-ups:
Wolverhampton: Patricio - Boly, Coady, Saiss - Doherty, Moutinho, Neves, Jonny - Traore, Jimenez, Neto
Espanyol: D. Lopez - J. Lopez, L. Lopez, Cabrera, Vila - Lozano, Sanchez - Embarba, Darder, Vargas - Tomas
My prediction:
This is a great chance for Wolverhampton as Espanyol have plenty of worries on the domestic front, I think the home side will win 2-0.
Here are the odds for the match at NetBet:
Wolves win - 1.61
Draw - 3.75
Espanyol win - 5.25
