Athletic Club vs Espanyol Preview

Athletic Club will welcome Espanyol to the Estadio San Mamés in the 23rd round of the 2021/22 La Liga season.

Bilbao are currently sitting in eighth place with 31 points from 22 games (W7, D10, L5) and four points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid.

They remain in search of a top-six finish this season and will be desperate to keep their chances of doing so alive by winning this game.

Despite their league position, their season so far has been largely successful. Although they lost the Spanish Supercup to Real Madrid, they performed well in the tournament.

However, they made up for their Supercup loss by beating Real Madrid last week in the Copa del Rey.

They come into this match with a four-point advantage over their opponents. They have won three of their last five La Liga outings (D1, L1). Their recent upturn in form is aided by a frontline that has scored an average of 1.6 goals per match in their last five games, more than double the average they managed across their opening 17 league outings this season (0.76).

Marcelino’s side have also lost just one of their last six home La Liga H2Hs (W4, D1) with the manager hoping that his side can avoid recording back-to-back home league losses for the first time during his reign.

Meanwhile, Espanyol also retain hopes of finishing inside the European spots as they come into this tie sitting in 13th, but only nine points behind Rayo Vallecano in 6th.

However, their chances of European qualification was dealt a huge blow last time out as they lost 4-1 to Real Betis. That win was their third loss in their last four games and extended their winless run in all competitions to four games. (D1, L3).

The ‘Parakeets’ will look to get a win here and end that woeful run that is threatening to ruin their season.

This will be the 172nd La Liga meeting between the two sides, and the visitors will be hoping to add to their record of beating Bilbao more times than any other side in the competition’s history (W65, D35, L71).

They have also netted more times against the hosts than any other club in top-flight history (237), though they may struggle to add to that here as they have failed to score in 45% of their league away matches this season.

This season, Espanyol have won just once on the road (D4, L6). Given that they have now conceded in seven straight La Liga outings, they cannot be backed to keep a clean sheet in this game.

Other fixtures taking place this week in the Spanish Primera:

Spanish Primera Table

Spanish Primera Results