Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde says his players will be up for their Copa del Rey clash with Espanyol tonight.

Valverde, who promised the Lions will give their all against RCD Espanyol at San Mames.

Starting with the first edition of the tournament in 1902, Los Leones have won the competition a total of 24 times in their history.

"We have a chance to go through to the quarter-finals," Valverde said at a pre-match press conference.

"It's a Copa match at San Mames and we're expecting a great atmosphere. We hope the crowd will get behind us. We're excited because we know what the Copa means to our fans."

The gaffer warned RCD Espanyol will be tough opposition, singling out an away record which has seen them "pick up a lot of points on the road" so far this season.

He added: "They're solid, strong and aggressive in duels. It's not easy to beat them. They've had a lot of games they've drawn when they could have lost or won. From a psychological point of view, the draw against Barcelona the other day will be a big boost."

Nevertheless, Valverde pointed out that LaLiga form means very little when it comes to a winner-takes-all clash in the Copa del Rey.

"Tomorrow's game is different to a LaLiga match and it's going to be different to the one we played here [in September]," the boss said.

"It depends on how the match progresses, one of us may have to risk more or less, but we both have to go for the win."

Despite recent results - Athletic have two draws and a loss in LaLiga since returning to action - Valverde is not overly worried, saying his team know where they have to improve.

He said: "We're feeling good and confident. There are always difficulties and obviously we're not happy with not having won in a while.

"We're know we need to create clearer chances and be more accurate in front of goal. That's what we've been lacking since the start of the season. However, we have no doubts about the team's character."