Athletic Bilbao will be bidding to bounce back from their defeat in the Basque derby when they resume their La Liga campaign at home to Almeria on Friday night.
The Lions have made a solid start to their 2023-24 campaign, sitting sixth in the table on 14 points, but Almeria have struggled, with the visitors bottom of the division on three points from eight matches.
Match preview
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Athletic were well-beaten in the Basque derby last weekend, conceding three unanswered goals to Real Sociedad, who proved to be too strong for their opponents at Reale Arena.
Ernesto Valverde's side have still made a solid start to the season, though, boasting a record of four wins, two draws and two defeats from eight matches to collect 14 points, which has left them in sixth position.
The Lions have picked up seven points from the last nine available at San Mames, beating Real Betis and Cadiz before drawing 2-2 with Getafe in their last match in front of their own supporters.
Athletic will now be bidding to enter the international break off the back of a victory, before returning to La Liga action away to the champions Barcelona on October 22.
The Basque outfit have actually won their last four La Liga matches against Almeria, while they have not lost to their opponents on Friday in Spain's top flight since January 2009, which is an indication of the size of the task facing the team currently at the bottom of the division.
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There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a hugely difficult start to the season for Almeria, who have picked up just three points from eight matches to sit at the foot of the table.
La Union sacked Vicente Moreno as head coach following the 5-1 defeat at Sevilla on September 26, with Almeria B boss Alberto Lasarte placed in charge on a caretaker basis.
Lasarte managed to pick up a point in his first game at the helm, with Almeria drawing 3-3 with Granada on Sunday, but the result would have felt like a defeat considering what occurred.
Indeed, the team at the bottom of the table were 3-0 ahead at the interval, with Luis Suarez netting an incredible hat-trick in the final stages of the first period, but Granada scored three times without reply in the second period to secure a share of the spoils.
Almeria finished 17th in La Liga last season, and they are bidding to make it successive campaigns at this level for the first time since 2015, but it could be a long and difficult campaign for UDA.
Team News
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Athletic have three players on the sidelines through injury, with Unai Gomez missing due to a muscular issue, while both Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta and Peru Nolaskoain have thigh problems.
The Basque outfit will be boosted by the return of Oihan Sancet, though, with the attacker available again after serving a suspension in the loss to Real Sociedad.
Sancet is expected to return to the side in place of Iker Muniain, while Mikel Vesga is also likely to earn a recall in the middle of midfield.
Nico Williams played 63 minutes against Real Sociedad on his return from injury, and the Spain international is set to start again in this match.
Almeria, meanwhile, have four players on the sidelines through injury, with Lucas Robertone, Marc Pubill, Martin Svidersky and Edgar Gonzalez unavailable for selection.
Gonzalez picked up an issue in the first half of the clash with Granada last time out, which is likely to lead to Iddrisu Baba being recalled in central midfield.
Sergio Arribas is also expected to come back into the starting side, but Largie Ramazani should keep his spot, with Adri Embarba and Leo Baptistao likely to be on the bench.
Suarez netted three times against Granada last time out to move onto four La Liga goals for the campaign, and the 25-year-old and will again lead the attack here.
Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Simon; De Marcos, Vivian, Yeray, Yuri; Vesga, D Garcia; I Williams, Sancet, N Williams; Guruzeta
Almeria possible starting lineup:
Maximiano; Puigmal, Kaiky, Chumi, Akieme; Melero, Baba, Lopy; Arribas, Suarez, Ramazani
We say: Athletic Bilbao 2-0 Almeria
Almeria have a talented squad, but it is really difficult to back them at the moment. The visitors will end their winless run at some stage, but it is highly unlikely to be in this match, and we are expecting Athletic to collect all three points in relatively comfortable fashion at San Mames.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
