Just four points stand between Athletic Bilbao and Espanyol as the two side prepare to go head-to-head at San Mames on Monday night.
The hosts find themselves in ninth place – five points outside the top four – having avoided defeat in each of their previous three La Liga games.
👀💪🏽 #RCDE pic.twitter.com/PW8Yj1kHMI— RCD Espanyol de Barcelona (@RCDEspanyol) February 1, 2022
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On the flip side, Espanyol are sitting in thirteenth place. They are nine points clear of the relegation zone and seven points shy of the European spots.
Athletic Bilbao head into Monday’s clash on a three-game unbeaten streak in La Liga. After beating Osasuna, they drew with Alaves before beating Rayo Vallecano.
When you look at the bigger picture, Athletic have lost just one of their previous five La Liga outings – picking up three wins and a draw along the way.
It is worth noting that Athletic have drawn more games than any other side in La Liga this season. Indeed, they have drawn ten of their 22 matches.
Athletic Bilbao boast the second-best defensive record in the Spanish top flight, having conceded just 17 goals this term.
With a measly 21 goals to their name, however, only four teams have scored fewer goals than Athletic this season.
Espanyol have scored five more goals than Athletic. However, they have conceded 30 – 13 more than Monday’s opponents.
They have only managed to win seven of their 22 La Liga matches this term, recording six draws and nine losses in the process.
Espanyol have failed to win any of their previous three league games after suffering a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Real Betis last time out.
Looking at the wider picture, Espanyol have lost six of their past 11 La Liga clash – picking up four wins and a draw in that time.
Head-to-head: Three of the previous four La Liga meetings between Athletic Bilbao and Espanyol have ended 1-1.
Athletic have only managed to win one of their last seven matches against Espanyol. With four draws coming during that period, another stalemate looks likely.
Team news: Bilbao will be without Unai Vencedor on Monday as the central midfielder continues to recover from a hamstring injury.
Espanyol have no injury concerns heading into Monday’s clash. Raul de Tomas is their main man, having bagged 12 goals and two assists in 23 appearances this season.
When you couple Athletic’s recent tendency to draw with the head-to-head record in this fixture, all the signs point towards another stalemate.
Forebet predicts that Athletic Bilbao and Espanyol will share the points on Monday, with both teams scoring over 1.5 goals.