Espanyol vs Athletic Club preview

Spain flag 2025/2026 La Liga, Spain
RCDE Stadium Wed, 13 May - 5:00 PM
La Liga
Espanyol ESY
Athletic Club ATH
KICKOFF : Wed, 13 May - 5:00 PM
Round 36 Regular Season

CONTEXT

Espanyol welcome Athletic Club to RCDE Stadium for a crucial La Liga regular season clash in the 2025/2026 campaign. Sitting 16th in the standings, Espanyol are under pressure to climb away from the relegation zone, while 9th-placed Athletic Club aim to solidify their mid-table position. Athletic hold a clear edge with a power score of 77.97 against Espanyol's 72.67, translating to a 5.3-point advantage that underscores their structural superiority. Form tells a stark story too: Athletic's 12.56 rating towers over Espanyol's modest 4.72, highlighting the visitors' recent momentum. Both sides lack detailed xG data for set pieces, with low-confidence proxies indicating limited insights into dead-ball threats. Efficiency and transition metrics remain unavailable, shifting focus to overall power and current standings. Espanyol's home crowd could spark an upset, but Athletic's quality positions them strongly.

TL;DR

  • Structural: Athletic Club possesses a 5.3-point power advantage over Espanyol with scores of 77.97 versus 72.67.
  • Form: Athletic Club's form score of 12.56 significantly outpaces Espanyol's 4.72.
  • Squad: Espanyol occupy 16th place in La Liga while Athletic Club sit in 9th.
  • Efficiency: Efficiency metrics are unavailable for both teams.
  • Transition: Transition play data is not available in current analysis.
  • Set pieces: Set piece stats show low confidence with no xG data and proxy usage for both teams.
  • xVariable: xG data unavailable, limiting advanced variable analysis.
  • Market: Espanyol 36.2% (Δ+0%) | Draw 29.2% (Δ+0%) | Athletic Club 34.7% (Δ+0%).
No standings statistics available.
No head-to-head records found.
0.5+ goals: 85%
1.5+ goals: 70%
2.5+ goals: 50%
3.5+ goals: 25%
Confidence: High (≥8 matches)

Quality vs Volume

Home: xG 1.8, Shots 12, xG/Shot 0.15
Away: xG 1.5, Shots 14, xG/Shot 0.11

Open Play vs Set Play

Open Play: 65%
Set Play: 35%

Expected Points

TeamxPts
Home1.8
Away1.2
ℹ️ Methodology: Expected Goals (xG) measures shot quality
Jan 25 vs Team A
Feb 1 vs Team B
Feb 8 vs Team C
Espanyol J. González Álvarez
J. González Álvarez
VS
Athletic Club E. Valverde
E. Valverde
0.91
Avg Points / Game (Last 100 Matches)
1.17
0.33 i
Last 6 Opponents
Sevilla Rank: 73 L
Real Madrid Rank: 93 L
Levante Rank: 73 D
Rayo Vallecano Rank: 75 L
FC Barcelona Rank: 97 L
Real Betis Rank: 82 D
Avg Points / Game (Last 6 Matches)
1 i
Last 6 Opponents
Valencia Rank: 77 L
Deportivo Alavés Rank: 76 W
Atlético Madrid Rank: 88 L
Osasuna Rank: 78 W
Villarreal Rank: 84 L
Getafe Rank: 76 L
15
Head to Head (Wins - Draws - Losses)
15 - 14 - 13
13
No sidelined player data available.

Win Probabilities

Live Win Probability (90 Min)
Home Espanyol
36.15%
Draw
29.16%
Away Athletic Club
34.69%

Team Power Ranking

i
What is Power Ranking?
Power ranking is SportMonks' model-based team strength indicator. Historical input capped to 2 seasons.
72.67
77.97
0 (Weakest) 100 (Strongest)
Metric
Espanyol
Athletic Club
Power Score
72.67
77.97
League Position
16
9
Global Rank
151
79

Form Analysis Opponent-Weighted

Line chart of recent results (points/trend). Friendlies excluded by default. Hover for opponent, result, xG/xGA and power ranking — based on last 6 matches.

vs
Espanyol Opponent-weighted form score
Athletic Club Opponent-weighted form score
Win (3 pts) Draw (1 pt) Loss (0 pts) Espanyol Athletic Club

Team Head to Head Last 6 Seasons

Summary of 42 matches between these sides — filtered by competition and venue context.

Espanyol ESY Home
42 matches
Athletic Club ATH Away
Match Record
15
Wins
13
14
Draws
14
13
Losses
15
Goals
52
Goals Scored
54
54
Goals Conceded
52
-2
Goal Difference
+2
Expected Goals
0
xG
0
0
xGA
0

Data last updated: 2026-05-12T00:05:27+00:00

STARTING XI

Match Formation 4-2-3-1
Match Formation 4-2-3-1
Pitch
M. Dmitrović
Serbia
13 M. Dmitrović
O. El Hilali
Morocco
23 O. El Hilali
F. Calero Villa
Spain
5 F. Calero Villa
L. Cabrera Sasía
Uruguay
6 L. Cabrera Sasía
C. Romero Serrano
Spain
22 C. Romero Serrano
U. González de Zarate Quirós
Spain
4 U. González de Zarate Quirós
E. Expósito Jaén
Spain
8 E. Expósito Jaén
Rubén Sáez
Spain
2 Rubén Sáez
R. Terrats Espacio
Spain
14 R. Terrats Espacio
T. Dolan
England
24 T. Dolan
R. Fernández Jaén
Spain
9 R. Fernández Jaén
U. Simón Mendibil
Spain
1 U. Simón Mendibil
Y. Berchiche Izeta
Spain
17 Y. Berchiche Izeta
A. Laporte
Spain
14 A. Laporte
Y. Álvarez López
Spain
5 Y. Álvarez López
A. Gorosabel Espinosa
Spain
2 A. Gorosabel Espinosa
M. Jauregizar Alboniga
Spain
18 M. Jauregizar Alboniga
A. Rego Mora
Spain
30 A. Rego Mora
A. Berenguer Remiro
Spain
7 A. Berenguer Remiro
O. Sancet Tirapu
Spain
8 O. Sancet Tirapu
R. Navarro Muñoz
Spain
23 R. Navarro Muñoz
G. Guruzeta Rodríguez
Spain
11 G. Guruzeta Rodríguez

General Information

Date & Time
May 13, 2026, 05:00 PM
Competition
2025/2026 La Liga, Spain · Round 36 · Regular Season
Stadium
RCDE Stadium
Capacity
40000
Pitch Surface
Grass
Weather
☀️ 12°C, Fair

Lineup

Starting XI

13
Marko Dmitrovic
Marko Dmitrovic Goalkeeper
6.96
5
Fernando Calero
Fernando Calero Defender
6.82
6
Ludovic Taillandier
Ludovic Taillandier Defender
6.81
22
Carlos Romero
Carlos Romero Defender
6.81
23
Omar El Hilali
Omar El Hilali Defender
6.71
4
Urko González de Zárate
Urko González de Zárate Midfielder
6.56
8
Edu Expósito
Edu Expósito Midfielder
7.16
14
Ramón Terrats
Ramón Terrats Midfielder
6.61
2
Rubén Sánchez
Rubén Sánchez Attacker
6.55
9
Roberto Fernández
Roberto Fernández Attacker
6.74
24
Tyrhys Dolan
Tyrhys Dolan Attacker
6.76

Starting XI

1
Unai Simón
Unai Simón Goalkeeper
6.79
2
Andoni Gorosabel
Andoni Gorosabel Defender
6.61
5
Yeray Álvarez
Yeray Álvarez Defender
6.63
14
Aymeric Laporte
Aymeric Laporte Defender
6.87
17
Yuri Berchiche
Yuri Berchiche Defender
6.94
8
Oihan Sancet
Oihan Sancet Midfielder
6.71
18
Mikel Jauregizar
Mikel Jauregizar Midfielder
6.81
30
Alejandro Rego
Alejandro Rego Midfielder
6.66
7
Álex Berenguer
Álex Berenguer Attacker
6.85
11
Gorka Guruzeta
Gorka Guruzeta Attacker
6.95
23
Robert Navarro
Robert Navarro Attacker
6.71

CONCLUSION

Athletic Club arrive as the stronger outfit, backed by superior power ratings and form that suggest they can exploit Espanyol's struggles. The hosts, battling in the lower reaches of the table, will lean on home support at RCDE Stadium to disrupt Athletic's rhythm. Without granular xG insights into set pieces or efficiency, the matchup hinges on Athletic's overall quality against Espanyol's resilience. A tight contest looms, but the visitors' edge in standings and metrics points toward them securing vital points in this regular season encounter.