Will the first division side live up to their role as favourites?
January is traditionally dominated by the cup competition in Spain. In the meantime, the promotion to the next round is no longer determined in a first and second leg, but only in one match. The 118th edition is now in the third main round, which runs from Tuesday to Thursday. The first round of 16 winner will be decided on Tuesday evening. Ponferradina and Espanyol Barcelona will face each other at the El Toralin stadium.
Not every football fan will be familiar with the hosts, but the team from the Leon region is a second-division club that has every right to hope for promotion to LaLiga for the first time. Espanyol achieved this promotion last season and immediately eradicated the “operational accident” of relegation. As a first division team, head coach Vicente Moreno’s side are considered slight favourites. Between Ponferradina and Espanyol Barcelona, odds are offered on betting on the visitors at 2.30.
For both teams, the cup match will represent their first appearance of the 2022 calendar year after finishing 2021 on Friday. While Espanyol Barcelona celebrated a last-minute win at the bats of Valencia, Ponferradina suffered defeat at Real Oviedo. Tuesday’s cup clash kicks off at 9pm.
Ponferradina – Statistics & current form
SD Ponferradina is a football club from the Leon region, founded in 1922. The second division has been the maximum so far. In both the 2012/13 and 2014/15 seasons, the club finished seventh in the table, which is their greatest success so far. Qualification for the promotion play-offs has not yet been achieved. However, that could possibly change this season for the team of long-term coach Bolo.
Strong season in LaLiga2
After finishing eighth in the table last season, Bolo’s eleven are currently in fifth place in the table. In 22 league games, the promotion aspirants have managed ten wins, seven draws and only five defeats. One of these defeats came last Friday, when they weakened themselves against Real Oviedo. The final score was 0:2 and only nine Ponferradina players were on the pitch at the time of the final whistle. In total, there were three sending-offs, as Jose Naranjo was also shown the red card on the bench.
A heated match, which meant the first defeat for Ponferradina after five unbeaten games (three wins, two draws). Nevertheless, the current situation in the standings is very satisfactory and as fifth, the gap to the direct promotion place is just five points.
Ponferradina are very strong at home
With a 2-0 defeat, Real Oviedo can almost be dubbed as fearful opponents this season. Ponferradina’s only home defeat came on 24 October, also against Real Oviedo (1:2). In the ten remaining home games, there were six wins and four draws. Derived from this good home record for Ponferradina against Espanyol Barcelona, odds of only 2.10 are offered for the “to qualify” of the second division team.
The home advantage is not to be swept under the table, but qualitatively the squad of the home side is certainly weaker than that of the guests. In addition, Copete (centre-back) and Espiau (striker) will be missing. Top striker Yuri (nine goals in the season) is expected to be back in the starting line-up.
Predicted line-up of Ponferradina:
Garcia – Ivan Rodriguez, Amo, Pascanu, Adot – Ojeda, Cristian Rodriguez, Moran, Molina – Enrich, Yuri
Last matches played by Ponferradina:
LaLiga2
12/31 2021 – Real Oviedo 2 – 0 Ponferradina
12/19 2021 – Ponferradina 1 – 1 SD Amorebieta
Copa del Rey
12/15 2021 – Ponferradina 2 – 1 UD Ibiza
LaLiga2
12/12 2021 – Leganes 1 – 1 Ponferradina
12/05 2021 – Ponferradina 2 – 1 CD Mirandes
Espanyol Barcelona – Statistics & current form
As a promoted team, the local rival of the great FC Barcelona has been very strong so far. After the first half of the season, Espanyol Barcelona are in an excellent eighth place in the table and have just five points less than their big neighbour. With a ten-point lead over the first relegation place, the current situation is extremely comfortable.
First away win of the year
The conclusion for the calendar year 2021 is therefore very positive. Re-promotion and establishment in the midfield are the big cornerstones. In addition, the last black mark was eradicated on the last day of the year. The Moreno team owes its very good ranking to its home strength (6-2-1 record). Away from home, on the other hand, things often didn’t go according to plan.
But the winlessness as a guest could be eradicated at the bats of CF Valencia. Two late goals against Pepe Bordalas’ in-form team resulted in a surprising victory. Espanyol Barcelona were able to celebrate for the first time in their tenth away game. This continued a streak in the league that has alternated between wins and defeats since the end of October.
No big rotation expected
Cup games are always to be viewed with a bit of caution, but you won’t be able to/need to adjust to a large-scale rotation at Espanyol Barcelona. There will certainly be a change or two, but the first two rounds against lower-tier sides Solares-Medio Cudeyo and CD Palencia Cristo have already shown that Vicente Moreno does not take games lightly.
Given the difference in quality and Espanyol’s performances so far in the Spanish Copa del Rey, predicting the visitors in the third main round between Ponferradina and Espanyol Barcelona seems a good option.
Predicted line-up of Espanyol Barcelona:
Garcia – Vila, Cabrera, Gomez, Miguelon – Morlanes, Villahermosa, Darder – de Tomas, Dimata, Melendo
Last matches played by Espanyol Barcelona:
LaLiga
12/31 2021 – Valencia 1 – 2 Espanyol
12/17 2021 – Celta Vigo 3 – 1 Espanyol
Copa del Rey
12/14 2021 – CD Palencia Cristo Atletico 1 – 2 Espanyol
LaLiga
12/11 2021 – Espanyol 4 – 3 Levante
12/05 2021 – Rayo Vallecano 1 – 0 Espanyol
Ponferradina – Espanyol Barcelona Direct comparison / H2H record
The two teams faced each other for the first time last season in 2020/21. On the way to direct promotion, Espanyol Barcelona managed a clear success against the team from Ponferrada both at home (2-0) and away (4-1). In the cup tie between Ponferradina and Espanyol Barcelona, the odds on the visitors are therefore a little high.
Ponferradina – Espanyol Barcelona Tip
Generally, this cup match can also be summarised under the title “home strength meets away weakness”. Espanyol Barcelona have certainly not been convincing away from home so far, but they made a statement on Friday and generally have a much stronger squad than the home side. That’s why the odds between Ponferradina and Espanyol Barcelona seem to be quite high when betting on the home side.
Even though the home side are currently in a play-off spot for promotion, the current squad of the Bolo eleven is significantly weaker than that of Espanyol Barcelona. This became clear in the two direct duels last year.
Therefore, six units are betting on the prediction of a favourite victory in the Copa del Rey duel between Ponferradina and Espanyol Barcelona.
