Match Pack: Athletic Club vs RCD Espanyol (LaLiga MD17)

The last match of this calendar year sees Athletic Club face RCD Espanyol in Bilbao before a short winter break.

Ernesto Valverde's Lions will be desperate to end 2025 in style, especially with a very busy January on the horizon. Furthermore, a win at San Mames against a rival for European qualification would provide a huge morale boost.

Manolo Gonzalez's RCD Espanyol, early season revelations in LaLiga, currently sit in fifth place and are coming to The Cathedral full of confidence having not suffered a league defeat since the start of November.

 

Match Info

Athletic Club vs RCD Espanyol

San Mames, Bilbao

LaLiga EA Sports 25/26 (Matchday 17)

Monday December 22, 21:00 CET

Tickets can be purchased via this link.  
 

 

Team News

Ernesto Valverde has named a 23-man squad for Saturday's clash in Bilbao. 

Maroan, Beñat Prados, Aymeric Laporte and Yuri remain sidelined with their respective injuries, whilst Dani Vivian is serving a suspension for reaching five yellow cards.

Centre-back Iker Monreal has been called up from Bilbao Athletic as cover.
 

 

Valverde's Comments

Ernesto wants to see Athletic end the year on a high note against a rival for European qualification, uring his players to "reduce the gap" to Espanyol in the league.

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

 

📢 "It's a very important match."

"We want to close the gap to an opponent that's above us in @LaLigaEN and having a great season."

🎙️ Ernesto Valverde previews #AthleticEspanyol #AthleticClub 🦁 pic.twitter.com/9n8oOAuAxk

— Athletic Club (@Athletic_en) December 21, 2025

 

The Opponents

Check out all our previous matches against RCD Espanyol. 
 

Head coach: Manolo González

Having cut his teeth as a lower-league coach in Catalunya, Manolo initially took over Espanyol's B team in 2023/24 before being promoted to the top job halfway through the season.

He led the Catalans back into LaLiga via the play-offs that same campaign and consolidated their place in the top-flight last year by finishing 14th.
 

Top goalscorer: Pere Milla

The 33-year-old winger joined Espanyol from Elche CF ahead of the 2023/24 campaign. So far this season he has scored five times in 14 appearances.
 

Recent form: WWWWD 

As we head into the Christmas break, Los Pericos are fifth in LaLiga with 30 points from nine wins, three draws and four losses.

Their last defeat came against Villarreal CF on November 8, while they beat Getafe CF 0-1 in their most recent LaLiga outing.
 

 

Previous Meetings

This is a fixture that dates back to the inaugural LaLiga season in 1929. Our very first official encounter saw Athletic win 9-0 at San Mames.

From 176 top-flight fixtures, Athletic have registered 74 wins, 36 draws and 66 defeats.
 

We've met 88 times in Bilbao, with the Zurigorri registering 56 victories, 14  draws and 18 losses.
 

Athletic's recent home record against Los Pericos is strong. Espanyol's five latest visits to Bilbao have produced three wins, a draw and a loss for the Lions.
 

The corresponding fixture last season was a cracker. Los Rojiblancos romped to a 4-1 victory with Dani Vivian, Iñaki Williams and Alex Berenguer getting on the scoresheet.
 

 

How to Watch

Check out our global TV guide to make sure you don't miss the match. 

You can also follow the fixture, and keep up to date with everything Athletic related, through the official Athletic Club app, as well as on our website and social media accounts:

Twitter

Basque: @Athletic_eus

English: @Athletic_en

Spanish: @AthleticClub

Facebook

www.facebook.com/ATHLETICCLUB/ (Spanish + Basque)

Instagram

@athleticclub (Spanish + Basque)

Website

Basque: www.athletic-club.eus/eu/

English: www.athletic-club.eus/en/

Spanish: www.athletic-club.eus/