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Espanyol are set to play Athletic Club at the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat on Thursday in La Liga.
Espanyol come into this game on the back of a 2-2 draw against Fran Escriba's Elche in the league. Goals from Argentine strikers Lucas Boye and Dario Benedetto for Elche was cancelled out by goals from young midfielder Manu Morlanes and striker Raul de Tomas for Espanyol.
Athletic Club, on the other hand, beat Unai Emery's Villarreal 2-1 in La Liga. Goals from experienced forward Raul Garcia and attacker Iker Muniain sealed the deal for Marcelino's Athletic Club. French midfielder Francis Coquelin scored the consolation goal for Villarreal.
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Espanyol vs Athletic Club Head-to-Head
In 31 head-to-head encounters between the two sides, Espanyol hold the advantage. They have won 12 games, lost 10 and drawn nine.
The two clubs last faced each other last year in La Liga, with the game ending in a 1-1 draw. A first-half goal from striker Asier Villalibre for Athletic Club was cancelled out by a second-half goal from former Benfica striker Raul de Tomas for Espanyol.
Espanyol form guide in La Liga: D-W-W-L-W
Athletic Club form guide in La Liga: W-W-D-L-D
Espanyol vs Athletic Club Team News
Espanyol
Espanyol will be without winger Javi Puado and Albanian midfielder Keidi Bare, while there are doubts over the availability of right-back Miguelon. Other than that there are no known issues and manager Vicente Moreno is expected to have a fully fit squad at his disposal.
Injured: Keidi Bare, Javi Puado
Doubtful: Miguelon
Suspended: None
Athletic Club
Meanwhile, Athletic Club boss Marcelino will be unable to call upon the services of former Paris Saint-Germain left-back Yuri Berchiche and midfielder Peru Nolaskoain. There are doubts over the availability of centre-back Unai Nunez.
Injured: Yuri Berchiche, Peru Nolaskoain
Doubtful: Unai Nunez
Suspended: None
Espanyol vs Athletic Club Predicted XI
Espanyol Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Diego Lopez, Aleix Vidal, Sergi Gomez, Leandro Cabrera, Adria Pedrosa, Manu Morlanes, Sergi Darder, Adri Embarba, Fran Merida, Wu Lei, Raul de Tomas
Athletic Club Predicted XI (4-4-2): Unai Simon, Inigo Lekue, Daniel Vivian, Inigo Martinez, Mikel Balenziaga, Alex Berenguer, Oscar de Marcos, Unai Vencedor, Iker Muniain, Inaki Williams, Raul Garcia
Espanyol vs Athletic Club Prediction
Espanyol are currently 11th in the league table. Striker Raul de Tomas has enjoyed a good start to the season, while more is expected from Chinese attacker Wu Lei.
Athletic Club, on the other hand, are 7th in the league table, three points ahead of Espanyol with a game in hand. Forwards Iker Muniain and Inaki Williams are two of the team's most important attackers, and have done well for the club in recent years.
Athletic Club should edge past Espanyol.
Prediction: Espanyol 0-1 Athletic Club
