MX23RW : Monday, November 4 18:33:24| >> :600:212910:212910:
[monks data]
Espanyol logo
La Liga | Gameweek 28
Apr 8, 2023 at 3.15pm UK
RCDE Stadium
Athletic Bilbao logo

Espanyol
1 - 2
Athletic Bilbao

Darder (90')
Braithwaite (21'), Gragera (53'), Gil (59'), Calero (78'), Vidal (90+1')
Vidal (90+1')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Williams (22'), Williams (75')
de Marcos (21'), Garcia (30'), Sancet (44'), Simon (90+4')

Preview: Espanyol vs. Athletic Bilbao - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's La Liga clash between Espanyol and Athletic Bilbao, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Espanyol will be looking to halt a four-game winless run in La Liga when they continue their campaign at home to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday afternoon.

The home side's recent struggles have seen them drop into 18th spot in the table, while Athletic sit seventh, seven points behind sixth-placed Villarreal ahead of the next set of fixtures in Spain's top flight.


Match preview

Espanyol's Joselu celebrates scoring their first goal on March 11, 2023© Reuters

Espanyol finished 14th in La Liga last season on their return to the top flight, but the Catalan outfit are facing the possibility of dropping back down to the Segunda Division for the 2023-24 campaign.

A disappointing season has seen the White and Blues pick up just 27 points from 27 matches, which has left them in 18th position in the table.

It is so tight towards the bottom of the division, though, with only four points separating 19th-placed Almeria from Sevilla in 13th, with only Elche being cut adrift at this stage of the season.

Espanyol sacked Diego Martinez as head coach following the 2-1 loss at Girona on Saturday, which proved to be a fourth straight defeat for the Catalan side in Spain's top flight.

Luis Garcia, who represented Espanyol as a player between 2005 and 2011, is now in charge on an interim basis, and the 42-year-old will be desperate to make the perfect start to his reign this weekend.

Athletic Bilbao's Inaki Williams celebrates scoring their first goal on April 4, 2023© Reuters

Athletic will not be in the mood to hand out any favours in this match, though, as they suffered huge disappointment in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday night.

Inaki Williams scored in the 33rd minute of the second leg of their semi-final with Osasuna to level the tie, but Pablo Ibanez won it for Jaboba Arrasate's side late on, as Athletic missed the chance to advance to the final of the competition, with Osasuna instead taking on Real Madrid.

Athletic's full focus will now be on the league, with the Lions currently sitting seventh in the table, boasting 37 points from their opening 27 matches of the campaign.

The Basque outfit are level on points with eighth-placed Rayo Vallecano and seven behind Villarreal in sixth, and they will be bidding to return to winning ways in the league this weekend, having played out a goalless draw with Getafe last weekend.

Athletic suffered a 1-0 loss to Espanyol in the reverse match in the league earlier this season, but they have managed to pick up 16 points from their 13 away league games this term.

Espanyol La Liga form:

Athletic Bilbao La Liga form:


Athletic Bilbao form (all competitions):



Team News

Athletic Bilbao's Inaki Williams reacts on February 19, 2023© Reuters

Espanyol will be missing Brian Olivan, Gori and Adria Pedrosa through injury this weekend, while Sergi Gomez is out of the match following his red card against Girona.

Leandro Cabrera is available again following a suspension, though, and the Uruguayan is set to return to the starting side on Saturday.

Nico Melamed is also expected to return in the middle of the park, but there are unlikely to be many alterations from the game against Girona, with Martin Braithwaite and Javi Puado set to again support Joselu, who has 12 league goals to his name this term.

As for Athletic, Inigo Lekue, Jon Morcillo and Ander Herrera will miss the match through injury.

The Basque side did not pick up any fresh issues against Osasuna, but there could be a couple of changes, with Dani Vivian and Alex Berenguer potentially coming into the XI.

Inaki Williams and Nico Williams are both set to operate in the final third of the field, while Iker Muniain is expected to again feature in a deeper area for the Lions.

Espanyol possible starting lineup:
Pacheco; R Sanchez, Montes, Cabrera, Gil; Puado, Vinicius, Melamed, Braithwaite; Darder; Joselu

Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Aguirrezabala; De Marcos, Vivian, I Martinez, Yuri; Sancet, Vesga, Muniain; Berenguer, I Williams, N Williams


SM words green background

We say: Espanyol 2-2 Athletic Bilbao

This has all of the makings of an entertaining contest, and we are expecting goals in Saturday's affair. Espanyol have the second-worst home record in the league this season, but Athletic have won just four times on their travels, so we are backing a draw here.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data


ID:510770:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect12495:

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Game History

How you voted: Espanyol vs Athletic Bilbao

Espanyol
24.5%
Draw
24.5%
Athletic Bilbao
51.0%
49
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Barcelona midfielder Sergi Roberto celebrates scoring against Real Madrid on March 19, 2023
Read Next:
Saturday's La Liga predictions including Elche vs. Barcelona
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Barcelona12110140112933
2Real Madrid1173121111024
3Atletico MadridAtletico126511871123
4Villarreal116322019121
5Osasuna126331716121
6Athletic Bilbao125431812619
7Real BetisBetis125431210219
8Mallorca12534109118
9Rayo Vallecano114431210216
10Real Sociedad124351010015
11GironaGirona124351517-215
12Sevilla124351217-515
13Celta Vigo114161720-313
14AlavesAlaves124171419-513
15Leganes122551216-411
16Getafe1117389-110
17Espanyol123181122-1110
18Las PalmasLas Palmas122371321-89
19Real ValladolidValladolid12228924-158
20Valencia11146817-97


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!