Lech Poznan
- Lech Poznan are unbeaten in their last five league games, winning three times in a row in their most recent fixtures.
- KKS Lech Poznan welcome Arka Gdynia to Poznan on Friday night in an Ekstraklasa matchup that has major implications at both ends of the table.
- The hosts are sitting pretty at the top of the Ekstraklasa with 55 points from 31 games and their current run of form has been a perfect mix of consistency and class.
- A 4-0 home win over Legia Warszawa was followed by gritty away wins at Pogon Szczecin and Motor Lublin, and they head into this game with a home record of one win and one draw in their last two.
- The home side operate in either a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3, playing a game built on possession and pressing.
- The team’s main threat comes through Swedish forward Mikael Ishak, who has notched 15 goals in 28 Ekstraklasa appearances this season, and their average of 2.40 goals per home game this term is built on the fact that they have scored 36 times on their own patch.
- Lech Poznan have won seven of their 15 home games in the league this season, losing just three.
Arka Gdynia
- Arka Gdynia have failed to win any of their last three away games, picking up just one point.
- Arka Gdynia are in the opposite corner of the standings, sitting 17th with 34 points from 30 matches and still needing points to avoid the relegation scrap.
- Their recent run of results has seen them go backwards, with one win, one draw and three defeats in their last five in the Ekstraklasa.
- They come into this clash off the back of two straight defeats, a 4-1 loss at Piast Gliwice and a 3-0 defeat at home to Jagiellonia Bialystok, and they have been woeful on the road this term, winning just one of their 15 away games in the Polish top flight (D2, L12).
- Arka will sit deep, look to remain compact and hope their pace out wide can get them on the counter.
Key Players
- The team’s main threat comes through Swedish forward Mikael Ishak, who has notched 15 goals in 28 Ekstraklasa appearances this season.
- Eduardo Espiau leads the way for the visitors in the goalscoring race, with five goals in 25 league games.
- Oskar Kubiak has been their spark, scoring twice in his last five appearances.
Head-to-Head
Both teams have a win each in the two Ekstraklasa head-to-heads this campaign, with Arka picking up a surprise win in the reverse fixture five months ago, but the hosts are the obvious favourites this time around given their form and home advantage.
Betting Insights
Lech are as short as 1.37 in the moneyline, so I’m going to pass on that market and go with Over 2.5 goals at 1.48 and Both Teams to Score - Yes at 1.73 , as the game looks set to be an end-to-end matchup with two sides of contrasting styles.
