Match Pack: Athletic Club vs RCD Espanyol (LaLiga MD10)

San Mames hosts 14th-placed RCD Espanyol as LaLiga action returns after a two-week international break.

Athletic Club will be hoping to put the loss to Girona behind them and return to winning ways with a victory over Manolo Gonzaléz newly-promoted side.

A LaLiga classic this will be the 88th time Espanyol have visited Bilbao for a top-flight fixture.
 

Match Info
Athletic Club vs RCD Espanyol

San Mames, Bilbao

LaLiga EA Sports 24/25 (Matchday 10)

Saturday October 19, 14:00 CEST

Tickets can be purchased via this link.

How to Watch
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Team News
Valverde named a 22-man squad for the clash in Bilbao.

Unai Simón, Oihan Sancet and Mikel Vesga are out injured, and Aitor Paredes is suspended.
 

 

Valverde's Comments
The gaffer admitted it was a special match for him given his links with RCD Espanyol, where he reached Europa League finals as a player and then as a coach.

Catch up with everything he had to say at his pre-match press conference.

The Opponents

Head coach: Manolo González

The Galician coach stepped up from the B-team to take over from Luis Miguel Ramis in March last season, eventually leading the Pericos back to LaLiga after play-off victory over Real Oviedo.

Top scorer: Jofre Carreras

With two goals in nine games, the 23-year-old academy product is actually Espanyol second top scorer after the injured Javi Puado.

The winger, a key player in last season's promotion success, made his LaLiga debut in the 2021/22 campaign, but has settled well into his first proper experience of top-flight football.

Recent form: WLLLW

A 4-1 loss to Real Madrid aside, all the Pericos' results so far this season have been separated by a goal or less, demonstrating a high level of competiveness.

Their most recent outing was a 2-1 win over Real Mallorca, which came after a run of three consecutive defeats.
 

Previous Meetings
A LaLiga staple, this fixture stretches back to Matchday 2 of the very first season, when Athletic beat Espanyol 9-0 at San Mames.

All in all, the Lions have face the Pericos 174 times in the top flight, winning 73, drawing 35 and losing the other 66.
 

As for home matches against Espanyol, Athletic have a strong historic home record. Los Leones have registered 55 wins, 14 draws and 18 defeats against the Catalans.
 

The last five meetings in Bilbao have been a mixed bag. Athletic have picked up two victories, a draw and two losses dating back to the 2017/18 campaign.

The Lions' most recent home victory over Espanyol came in the 2021/22 campaign, Oihan Sancet and Iñigo Martínez scoring the goals as Athletic won 2-1.