Athletic Bilbao will be aiming to make it seven straight wins in all competitions when they continue their La Liga campaign with a clash against Basque rivals Alaves on Sunday afternoon.
Ernesto Valverde's side are currently fourth in the La Liga table only six points behind division leaders Barcelona, while Alaves occupy 16th, having picked up 15 points from their opening 16 matches of the season.
Match preview
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Alaves played out a 2-2 draw with Osasuna in La Liga last weekend in what proved to be Eduardo Coudet's first league fixture in charge of the club, having been appointed the new head coach at the start of December.
The Basque outfit led 1-0 inside the first minute before conceding twice to trail 2-1, but Kike Garcia's second in the 68th minute proved to be enough to claim a welcome point for a team that have been struggling for results of late.
Alaves are without a victory in the league since the start of November, and their disappointing form has seen them drop into 16th spot in the table, boasting a record of four wins, three draws and nine defeats to collect 15 points.
The Blue and Whites finished 10th in La Liga last season, but it does appear that they could be in the relegation mix this term, with only two points currently separating them from the bottom three.
Alaves have not had much change out of Athletic in their recent meetings, failing to triumph in the last five La Liga encounters between the two sides, and the Lions won 2-0 in both league fixtures during the 2023-24 campaign.
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Athletic's form is excellent, with Valverde's team unbeaten in their last 12 matches in all competitions - nine of those being victories - and they will enter this game off the back of a six-game winning run.
The Lions have recorded statement victories in their last two league fixtures, beating both Real Madrid and Villarreal, and they are on 32 points from 17 league matches this season, which has left them in fourth spot in the table, only six points behind the leaders Barcelona on the same number of games.
Valverde's side will enter the match off the back of an excellent result in Europe, meanwhile, beating Fenerbahce 2-0 in Turkey, with the win leaving them second in the Europa League table on 16 points.
Athletic will end the year with fixtures against Alaves and Osasuna, and wins in both could certainly leave them in the title picture heading into 2025, which would be a remarkable achievement.
It is shaping up to be a potentially historic campaign for the Basque outfit, but their away form in La Liga this season has been patchy, only picking up 11 points from their seven matches, recording three wins in the process.
Team News
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Alaves are in good shape heading into this match, with the club not reporting any fitness problems, so it is expected that head coach Coudet will have a full complement to choose from this weekend.
Kike Garcia netted twice against Osasuna last time out and is certain to retain his spot through the middle, while Carlos Martin and Carlos Vicente are set to continue in the wide positions.
Jon Guridi played as a number 10 last time out, and that should again be the case on Sunday, with the likes of Stoichkov and Toni Martinez set to again start on the bench.
As for Athletic, Yeray Alvarez and Ander Herrera are out with muscular problems, while Nico Williams will be absent, with the Spaniard suffering a knee injury against Fenerbahce in the Europa League.
There will be changes from the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Fenerbahce, with Alex Berenguer, Dani Vivian and Benat Prados all set to come into the XI.
Inaki Williams netted twice in the team's last match and will again feature down the right, while Oihan Sancet and Gorka Guruzeta are set to continue in attacking positions for the visitors this weekend.
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Sivera; Tenaglia, Abqar, Mourino, Diarra; Vicente, Jordan, Blanco, Martin; Guridi; Kike Garcia
Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Agirrezabala; De Marcos, Vivian, Paredes, Yuri; Ruiz de Galarreta, Prados; I Williams, Sancet, Berenguer; Guruzeta
We say: Alaves 0-1 Athletic Bilbao
Alaves will be the fresher of the two teams, and they do not concede many at home, shipping only eight in their seven La Liga fixtures this term; Athletic have travelled back from Turkey for this one, so preparations will be difficult, but we are still expecting Valverde's side to put another victory on the board.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
