Gornik expected to kick-start Ekstraklasa campaign with victory over Cracovia
Gornik Zabrze vs Cracovia - 18/07/2022
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The 2022-23 Polish Ekstraklasa season kicks off on Friday, with the final game of Round 1 – Gornik Zabrze vs. Cracovia – taking place on Monday.
A solitary point separated Gornik Zabrze and Cracovia in the 2021-22 standings, with eighth-place Gornik ending the previous campaign just ahead of ninth-place Cracovia.
If last season’s table is anything to go by, Monday’s clash should be a close-fought battle between two evenly matched teams.
Let’s start by looking at the hosts, Gornik Zabrze, who registered 13 wins, eight draws, and 13 losses last term.
Funnily enough, they both scored and conceded 55 goals. Only the top three sides scored more, while only three of the bottom six clubs conceded more.
It is worth noting that Gornik Zabrze have played five pre-season friendlies in the lead-up to the new campaign, recording two victories, one draw and two defeats.
Having finished the 2021-22 season with back-to-back wins, Gornik will be hoping to pick up where they left off last term.
On the flip side, Cracovia registered 12 wins, ten draws and 12 losses last season. They ended up with a negative goal difference, though, after scoring 40 and conceding 42.
Only five teams recorded more draws than Cracovia during the previous campaign, so they will be eager to turn more draws into wins this season.
Cracovia have played six friendlies in recent weeks, registering three wins, one draw and two defeats in the process.
Thanks to goals from Jakub Myszor and Karol Knap, Cracovia claimed a 2-1 victory over Israeli outfit Hapoel Be’er Sheva last time out.
Head-to-head: Gornik Zabrze remained unbeaten against Cracovia last season, claiming a 2-2 draw away from home before winning 3-0 on home soil.
Gornik Zabrze have only lost two of their past six meetings with Cracovia, scoring over 2.5 goals in two big victories during that period.
Team news: Gornik Zabrze look set to start the season without striker Alex Sobczyk, who is currently nursing an injury.
Cracovia are injury-free at the moment. Pelle van Amersfoort (8 goals, 1 assist) and Sergiu Hanca (4 goals, 5 assists) were their danger men last term.
Although there was very little between Gornik Zabrze and Cracovia last season, Gornik’s recent record in this fixture is superior.
For that reason, Forebet predicts that Gornik Zabrze will claim all three points on Monday – scoring over 1.5 goals on their way to victory.
Home team
Away team
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
Pl1
432433
1
2 - 1
2.50
25°
2.30
2.30
3.30
3.00
no
no
no
0 - 2(0 - 2)
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