After recording contrasting results last time out, Espanyol and Las Palmas take centre stage in La Liga on Friday night as they go head-to-head at RCDE Stadium.
Without turning too many heads, both of these two have performed reasonably well so far this season and, therefore, could both be fancied to go well in this fixture for one reason or another. Rather than getting behind either to come out on top however, goals are the focus here. Both ‘Over 2.5 Goals’ and ‘Both Teams to Score’ stand out and, at odds of 23/20 and 10/11 respectively, are two bets that are worth placing.
At their home ground, Espanyol certainly haven’t been shy in front of goal this season, scoring 21 in 13 home matches. However, the fact that they’ve conceded 15, keeping just one clean sheet in their last six in front of their own fans, won’t please manager Quique Sánchez Flores’ all that much. Both teams have scored in 54% of Espanyol’s home matches, including in five of their last six.
On the road, Las Palmas are in something of a similar position. They’re certainly capable when going forward having scored 14 in 12, but they’re susceptible to conceding, especially on the counter. Their total of 27 conceded away from home this season doesn’t make for great reading, unless you’re hoping for yet more goals here of course.
Although 14 goals scored isn’t the most inspiring total, the visitors have only failed to score in four away matches this season and have found the net in each of their last two on the road. The three goals they scored at the Bernabéu a few short weeks ago proved that they’re certainly a side capable of inflicting some pain, even against the big teams, while the fact that they notched five, albeit against second division-bound Osasuna, is also promising. Given both their forward pedigree, as well as an inability to keep clean sheets (none on the road this season), it’s unsurprising that both teams have scored in 67% of Las Palmas’ away matches during this campaign.
With neither of these two lacking in forward-thinking players, high-scoring matches are a fairly common occurrence for both. ‘Over 2.5 Goals’ has landed in 62% of Espanyol’s home fixtures and in 67% of Las Palmas’ away matches. Given both these stats and the fact that both are likely to see this as a winnable fixture, goals look very much on the cards here, and thus a price of 23/20 on ‘Over 2.5 Goals’ should definitely be taken advantage of.
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