Athletic before the pause for national team games clearly lost shape. The team scored only four points in the last three rounds. A surprising was the match against Girona, in which Valverde’s team had two unconverted penalties, a suspension and a goal conceded in the ninth added minute. After the disappointing results, Athletic moved to sixth place with 14 points.
After three consecutive defeats, Espanyol made the most of their home game against Mallorca and secured a crucial 2-1 victory. Nevertheless, there were enough problems in the team’s actions. Head coach Manolo Gonzalez realizes that it is necessary to look for a solution and tries different combinations of players on the field.
Athletic are playing strong at home. The hosts try to control the ball, but at times they give away the initiative to create danger on the counterattacks at the expense of fast players on the flanks. They have won three of their last five matches at home. Espanyol’s away statistics look very sad – three defeats in four meetings and only one goal scored.