Lech Poznań vs Sunderland: Can Lech Poznań Pick Up Their First Three Points in the UEFA Europa League?

In the third round of the UEFA Europa League, we will witness a clash between Lech Poznań and Sunderland. The match will take place on Thursday, October 22, kicking off at 18:45 CET, and I have a betting tip for this fixture.

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Lech Poznań vs Sunderland: Match Facts and H2H

• Lech Poznań have lost just one of their last five matches.
• Lech Poznań have conceded goals in seven consecutive matches.
• Sunderland have lost three of their last four matches.
• Sunderland have conceded goals in four consecutive matches.
• Three of Sunderland’s ten matches have ended with a clean sheet, the same as Lech Poznań.
• Sunderland have suffered three defeats without scoring in ten matches.
• Lech Poznań have scored in both halves in 50% of their matches this season.
• These teams have never met in a competitive head-to-head fixture.

Lech Poznań vs Sunderland: Match Preview

Lech Poznań have won the Ekstraklasa title twice, but this summer they failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. Their European campaign featured an incredible upset. Lech won the first leg against Aarhus 4-1 but suffered a 4-1 defeat at home in the return leg and were eliminated on penalties. However, they had no trouble qualifying for the Europa League, although their start in the competition itself has been far from impressive. Lech lost 0-4 to Crystal Palace and Bayer Leverkusen. Domestically, Poznań sit second in the table, just one point behind the leaders, with a game in hand.

Sunderland earned promotion to the English Premier League last season and have immediately managed not only to establish themselves in the top flight but also to qualify for the UEFA Europa League. Moreover, they made a strong start to the league phase. The Black Cats first defeated AZ Alkmaar 1-0 before beating Torrense 2-1. Their Premier League campaign, however, has been very disappointing. Sunderland have collected four points from seven rounds and currently sit bottom of the table. The gap to 17th place is not particularly large at just two points, but the battle for survival promises to be extremely challenging for the teams involved.

Probable lineups

• Lech Poznań: Lis; Pereira, Skrzypczak, Monka, Gurgul; Kozubal, Murawski; Walemark, Rodriguez, Palma; Ishak
• Sunderland: Roefs; Hume, Danso, O’Nien, Methalie; Xhaka, Sadiki; Fofana, Rigg, Angulo; Tutierov

Prediction

Lech have not been performing particularly well in the Europa League, and another tough challenge now awaits them. I recommend backing Sunderland to win, as they have a very decent squad.