Bet on Athletic Bilbao vs RCD Espanyol on Football

Athletic Bilbao are marginal favorites based on recent form — Athletic have won 3 of their last 5 LaLiga matches while RCD Espanyol have 3 wins but fewer clean sheets; market moneyline odds available today show Athletic ~2.00 and Espanyol ~3.60 with Draw ~3.40, making Athletic the favored pick and offering value for Espanyol on the upset (DexWin - Best Odds on Your Favourite Sports).

The match kicks off on 22 December 2025 at 8:00:00 PM UTC (20:00 UTC); local time in Bilbao (CET) will be 21:00 on 22/12/2025.

The fixture is at San Mamés, Bilbao, Spain — capacity ~53,500, modern all-seater stadium with a pitch size of approximately 105x68m and a strong home atmosphere that often boosts Athletic Club’s pressing, set-piece and aerial advantage.

My prediction: Athletic Bilbao 2–1 RCD Espanyol — back Athletic on the moneyline at around 2.00 for a win or consider a 1.65 Asian Handicap (-0.5) for a safer play; total goals 2–3 is likely given Athletic’s home scoring (1.6 xG per home match recently) and Espanyol’s road defensive record, so combine a win bet with under 3.5 goals for balanced risk (DexWin - Best Odds on Your Favourite Sports).

In head-to-heads over the last 10 meetings, Athletic Bilbao lead with 5 wins, RCD Espanyol have 3 wins and there have been 2 draws; the average goals per game in those matches is ~2.6 with Athletic scoring on average 1.4 goals and Espanyol 1.2, and Athletic have been unbeaten at San Mamés in recent H2H encounters.