Wolverhampton Wanderers hosted Espanyol in the first leg of their Europa League Round of 32 matchup. Despite winning only one of their last nine matches in all competitions, Wolves have still maintained a strong season, sitting in eighth place on the competitive Premier League table. Espanyol, after a strong 2018/19 season saw them finish seventh in La Liga and obtain a Europa League qualifying berth, have struggled domestically and currently rest at the bottom of the table. This tactical analysis will examine the systems both sides applied and explain the methods Wolves used to take over the match.
Lineups
Nuno Espírito Santo’s side utilised their common back five/back three formation. Centre-back Willy Boly played alongside Conor Coady and Romain Saïss and has been in fine form since returning from injury. Matt Doherty and Jonny Castro started as the wing-backs on both sides of midfielders João Moutinho and Rúben Neves. In attack, Adama Traoré, club-leading goalscorer Raúl Jiménez, and Diogo Jota created a fast, dynamic front three.
Espanyol manager Abelardo Fernández, in just his ninth match in charge at the club, sent his team out in his preferred flat 4-4-2 formation with a number of changes to the lineup. Andrés Prieto started in goal over Diego López. Víctor Gómez, Naldo, Fernando Calero, and Dídac Vilá filled out the back four. Wu Lei, who was Espanyol’s most aggressive shot taker during the match, was positioned wide right beside Víctor Sánchez, Ander Iturraspe, and Matías Vargas in the midfield. Óscar Melendo and Facundo Ferreyra were selected to complete the formation over Jonathan Calleri and January signing Raúl de Tomás as the two strikers. These changes were likely an effect of Fernández prioritising La Liga survival over Europa League results.
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