Espanyol - Athletic Bilbao 16-02-2025

An early match on Sunday between two teams with a long history in La Liga. The match will be played at RCDE stadium Cornella, and here I think we have an exciting and good combo-odds that are surprisingly high, considering the teams. Let me explain why.

Espanyol

The home team has delivered well on their own turf, and rarely leave the field without having put at least one ball behind the opponent's goalkeeper. So far, there have been 16 goals in 12 home games this year, and we believe there could be more here. They are in 16th place, equal with CD Leganes, but with more goals scored.

6-5-12 is the overall result, but they score goals at home. Javier Puado Diaz is the team's top scorer with a total of eight goals this season. They are dangerously close to the relegation zone, so we calculate that the home team will go for victory here, and thus we can expect goals from the Catalans.

But a lot of the reason they are where they are is their defense. With 35 goals behind, it is reasonable to assume that the away team will also feel the pressure, and we foresee an entertaining match with a lot in the pot.

Athletic Bilbao

Athletic Bilbao are in the upper echelon of the table, fourth with 44 points, to be exact. They will probably want to consolidate their position at the top, and if they drop points here they could easily put Villareal right up their backs. And with the Champions League ticket in hand, they will probably do everything to not give it up.

And for that reason, we imagine that the away team will also go into the match with a plan to take all the points. And even though they have only scored 36 goals in 23 matches this year, they should have a good chance of scoring against a team that has struggled to keep a clean sheet.
But away from home they have scored 20 goals in 11 matches this year, and Oihan Sancet, with his 11 goals, will probably be a constant threat.

Damage

The home team is reported to have a nearly injury-free squad, but Atletico Bilbao will have to do without their midfielder, Ruiz de Galarreta. Beyond that, there is a good chance that both teams' coaches will field a nearly identical starting lineup to last time.

Conclusion

We think there will be goals here. How many, and to whom, is hard to say. But both have good reasons to attack, and if we get one first, the floodgates can quickly open. And if we go back to the two previous meetings, Bilbao won both with 4-1 and 1-2 respectively. And we should not ignore the fact that we can be served much of the same here. Therefore, we end up with the following bets;

Spain at 14:00 Espanyol – Athletic Bilbao: over 2.5 goals + both teams to score (3.00)

The analysis is written by guest writer Jarle Tangen. Would you like to try your hand as a writer with us? Read how to proceed here .