The La Liga fixture of Espanyol and Athletic Bilbao is going to be well-balanced match because both the teams are not so different from each other except for the three rank differences and one point on the points table. Athletic Bilbao is the 11th team on the points table with 24 points salvaged from six wins and six draws whereas the home team is ranked 14th with 23 points managed from 6 wins and five draws.
Espanyol remains undefeated in 19 of the 20 head to head encounters with Athletic Bilbao so the home team would be starting as favourities.
Tournament – Spanish League 2017-2018
When: 11:00 PM (IST) on Sunday
Where: Rcde Stadium, Spain
Date – January 14, 2018
Last six performances of both teams in the Spanish League 2017-18:
ESL – W, L, L, D, W, W
ATH – D, D, W, D, W, W
ESL: 4-3-3
ATH: 4-2–3–1
Lopez (GK), Martin, Duarte, Hermoso, Lopez, Sanchez, Roca, Darder, Garcia, Moreno, Baptistao
Herrerin (GK), Lekue, Nunez, Laporte, Saborit, Iturraspe, Rico, Williams, Garcia, Susaeta, Aduriz
ESL –
ATH –
(IndiaFantasy suggests picking equal players of both the teams)
Garcia(ATH)
Susaeta (ATH)
Nunez (ATH)
Duarte (ESL)
Lopez (ESL)
Moreno (ESL)
*(The aforementioned players are selected on the basis of their performance in their last match)
Espanyol has won three of their last four games, with Quique Sanchez Flores' side finally turning a corner. However, there is some doubt whether he will still be the manager as Stoke has offered him a way back to the Premier League.
The hosts went through to the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey in midweek, and things are looking up for them, especially given their impressive home form in Cornella.
Athletic is one of the more in-form teams in La Liga at present and has recorded four wins in their last five matches.
We are providing you the ESL Vs ATH football match preview based on our research and understanding. Please choose your own probable playing 11 as these matches are quite risky to predict who will play and who will not get the chance to play.