Our prediction for this Europa League match:
Espanyol
Match Time & Date:
19/09/2019
03:00 PM
Prediction: 2-0
Ferencvaros
As expected, Espanyol defeated Ukrainian side Zorya in the Europa League play-offs to book their place in the group stages of the European competition for the first time since 2007. Los Periquitos did not make a flying start to their La Liga campaign, but they are regarded as hot favourites to win their Europa League opener against Ferencvaros. The Hungarian outfit have been producing fine performances in European competition of late, but it is more than obvious that they are a team with two faces.
Ferencvaros are tough to beat at home, but they often struggle on the travels and we do not believe that they are capable of grabbing something from the RCDE Stadium clash. A man to keep an eye on in the home team will be Argentine attacker Facundo Ferreyra, who was scoring goals for fun in the Europa League qualifiers. The summer signing has already netted six goals in the process.
Highlighted Player (Diego Lopez):
Diego Lopez is a Spanish goalkeeper who plays for Milan in the Serie A. Lopez was born in Paradela on 3 November, 1981 and he played for Lugo during his youth career. He made two appearances for Lugo at senior level as well, but in 2000 he joined Real Madrid.
The 196-cm-tall shoot-stopper played for both Real Madrid C and Real Madrid B and he made just two appearances for the first team during his first spell at Real Madrid. After spending five seasons at Villarreal (2007-2012) the Spanish goalkeeper played for Sevilla in the 2012/2013 La Liga campaign, but he made no more than eight league appearances for los Sevillanos.
He returned to Real Madrid on January, 2013 and he quickly established himself as a first-team regular, replacing Iker Casillas in the starting XI. However, Real Madrid fans wanted to see Iker between the posts and, as a result, Diego Lopez was forced to join Milan in 2014. Lopez has only one cap for Spain national team.
Highlighted Team (Ferencvaros):
Established back in 1899, Ferencvaros are the most successful Hungarian club. The Zold Sasok clinched their 30th domestic trophy in the 2018/2019 season, but they eventually failed to book their place in the Champions League. Dinamo Zagreb proved to be a big catch for Ferencvaros in the Champions League play-offs, but the Green Eagles booked their spot in the Europa League group stages for the first time ever the same season.
Ferencvaros are well known for their green and white home kit, but they wear white shirts and white shorts when playing on the travels. Ujpest are considered the club’s fiercest rivals, whilst Ferencvaros and MTK Budapest face each other in the Eternal derby.
Honved are seen as the club’s bitter rivals as well. Back in 1975 the Zold Sasok made it to the UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup, with the team losing to Ukrainian club Dynamo Kiev in the title game. Sandor Kocsis, who scored 75 goals in 68 appearances for the Hungarian national team, is the club’s most notable footballer.
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