Athletic Bilbao vs Espanyol Prediction: the Hosts are Focused on the Cup

Prediction for the Copa del Rey Athletic Bilbao vs Espanyol match, which will take place on January 18th. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

Athletic, after all, is a cup club, so betting against them should be cautious. As for the current tonus, the Lions have not won other than the Copa del Rey after the break. In La Liga, Atletico suffered a loss to Real Sociedad in the derby and sealed draws with Betis at home and Osasuna on the road. As a result, Athletic dropped to eighth place in the standings with 26 points, two behind Betis from the Conference League. Atletico struggles to win at least the UEL place, not to mention the Champions League. So Copa del Rey is slowly becoming essential for them, especially since their opponent at this stage is mediocre Espanyol, which is not doing well on the road.

The Catalans also look good after the World Cup. In the Copa del Rey they beat Atletico Paso and Celta. In the championship, they earned five points in three rounds, breaking out of the relegation zone. However, the gap from Cadiz is only one point, which means that Espanyol should not relax. Also, Espanyol has a home match against motivated Betis in three days. Unlike Athletic, the Catalans have a bias in the championship direction. It is doubtful that they will field their strongest squad. The Catalans are more likely to sacrifice the cup to keep their La Liga place.

Athletic will bet on Copa del Rey and try not to worsen their La Liga position. Espanyol is not an easy opponent, and they look good after the break. But still, their main focus is the championship, not the cup. Here already, the Catalans will figure out the situation. Moreover, Espanyol will have a difficult match against Betis. So we should bet on Athletic. We will not be surprised if the Basques manage to win without conceding.

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