Match Pack: RCD Espanyol vs Athletic Club (LaLiga MD11)
Match Pack: RCD Espanyol vs Athletic Club (LaLiga MD11)
Everything you need to know before Tuesday night’s clash between Athletic and Espanyol
Athletic Club travel to Barcelona where they will face RCD Espanyol on Tuesday night at 21:00 CEST. The Lions are unbeaten in their last three LaLiga fixtures and will be looking to keep that good run going against the Catalan side, who are also in fine form at the moment.
Match info
RCD Espanyol vs Athletic Club (Matchday 11)
RCDE Stadium (Barcelona)
LaLiga Santander 2021-22
Tuesday October 26, 21:00 CEST
How to watch
We’ve compiled a list of global kick-off times and official LaLiga TV operators around the world to help make sure you don’t miss the match.
Team news
Marcelino has named a 22-man squad for the fixture. Centre-back Unai Nuñez has recovered from injury and goes straight back in to list. Striker Asier Villalibre has suffered a recurrence of his thigh issue and is unavailable for selection. Midfielder Oier Zarraga also misses out due to a calf injury.
There’s a first call-up for Juan Artola, the local-born forward has been at Lezama since he was 10 years old.
Marcelino’s comments
Catch more from the boss’ pre-match press conference.
The opponents
League position: 11th
Espanyol are back in the top division after having spent 2020-21 in the Segunda. The Barcelona-based side have been fairly consistent so far this season, picking up a total of 13 points so far this campaign. Like Athletic they are also on a three-match unbeaten streak, which started with a 2-1 home victory over Real Madrid at the beginning of the month.
Form over the last five LaLiga matches: WLWWD
Last match: 2-2 against Elche CF (A)
Head coach: Vicente Moreno
Moreno took over at Espanyol in the summer of 2020. The side finished as Segunda champions and won straight back up to LaLiga Santander in his first season in charge. It was the fourth occasion Moreno has achieved promotion at a club he’s managed.
Star man: Raúl de Tomás
The 27-year-old striker is a natural born goalscorer, strong and smart in the box, he has scored a total of 109 goals in 276 professional appearances. De Tomás was the top goalscorer in the Segunda División in 2020-21 with 23 goals in 37 matches.
The no.11 has hit the ground running this campaign. He’s found the back of the net five times in 10 matches and has scored in each of his last three appearances in the competition.
Previous meetings
One of the oldest fixtures in LaLiga, Athletic first travelled to Cornellà in the first ever top flight season in 1929. The two sides have faced each other in Barcelona in LaLiga a total of 85 times.
Traditionally, it’s been particularly difficult stomping ground for the Lions. They’ve drawn in three of the last four fixtures but haven’t beat Espanyol in Barcelona since 1998, Julen Guerrero’s strike sealing a 0-1 victory.
The last Espanyol vs Athletic match came in 2019-20 and saw Asier Villalibre score his first goal as a Lion in a 1-1 draw. Los Rojiblancos’ most recent win at the RCDE Stadium was an iconic 0-2 victory in the 2015 Copa Del Rey semi-final second leg, Aritz Aduriz and Xabi Etxeita grabbing the goals which sent Athletic through to the final.