Espanyol (home)
- Espanyol are in poor form and have failed to win any of their last five LaLiga matches (D1, L4).
- Manolo Gonzalez’s side have failed to find any kind of rhythm since he took over as head coach in March 2024.
- They come into this midweek clash on the back of consecutive defeats that included a 2-0 home loss to Real Madrid and a 2-1 away reverse at Sevilla.
- Kike Garcia is Espanyol’s top scorer this season with six goals in 33 LaLiga appearances.
Athletic Bilbao (away)
- Athletic Bilbao have won two and lost three of their last five in the league.
- That run has seen them fall to eighth in the table on 44 points from 34 games.
- Espanyol are 13th, having collected 39 points from 35 fixtures, so the pressure is certainly on them to get something here.
- Athletic won 4-2 away at Deportivo Alaves in their most recent away game.
- Valverde’s side like to press high up the pitch and move the ball quickly on the transition.
Head-to-Head
- Espanyol have won just six of their 17 home LaLiga games this season, drawing four and losing seven.
- Espanyol have not beaten Athletic Bilbao in two attempts at the RCDE Stadium(D1, L1).
Key Players
- Kike Garcia - Espanyol’s top scorer this season with six goals.
- Gorka Guruzeta - in good form for Bilbao with 9 goals in 31 LaLiga matches and 3 goals in his last 5 games.
Prediction
Back Athletic Bilbao to take all three points; expect an end-to-end game with both teams to score and over 2.5 goals .
