Lech Poznan’s 2-0-1 home record meets Sunderland’s 1-0-0 away record

The question at kickoff

Can Lech Poznan’s home record change the direction of a European campaign that has started with two defeats? In the pre-match UEFA Europa League table, Lech are ranked #36 with 0 points from 2 games and a -8 goal difference. Sunderland are ranked #9 with 6 points from 2 games and a goal difference of 2, six points ahead of Lech (6 v 0).

Home strength against away efficiency

Lech’s home record this season is 2 wins, 0 draws and 1 loss. They have scored 8 goals in those home games, averaging 2.70 per home game, and kept 2 clean sheets. Sunderland have won their only away game, scoring 2 goals and conceding 1, with an average of 2.00 goals scored per away game and 0 away clean sheets.

That gives Lech the stronger sample of home results, while Sunderland’s away sample is unbeaten. The recent-form samples also differ: Lech’s six most recent matches read Win, Win, Win, Draw, Loss, Loss; Sunderland’s two most recent matches were both wins.

Team information to monitor

Lech list A. Douglas, A. Gholizadeh, J. Moutinho and A. Sayyadmanesh as Missing Fixture, while R. Gumny and W. Monka are Questionable. Sunderland list J. Angulo, A. Browne, M. Ellborg, J. Ta Bi and C. Talbi as Missing Fixture, with R. Mundle also unavailable through a knee injury. D. Ballard, W. Isidor and T. Meunier are Questionable.

Both teams’ preferred formation is 4-2-3-1. At 16:45 UTC on Thursday, October 22, will Lech’s two home clean sheets withstand Sunderland’s unbeaten away start?