Both Athletic Bilbao and Getafe will be bidding to make it back-to-back wins in La Liga when they continue their respective campaigns with a clash at San Mames on Saturday afternoon.
The home side recorded a 3-1 victory over Real Valladolid in their last match before the international break, while Getafe beat Sevilla 2-0 to move into 13th spot in the table.
Match preview
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Athletic boosted their top-six hopes with a 3-1 win over Real Valladolid last time out, with the result moving them onto 36 points, which is enough for seventh position in the table.
The Basque outfit are five points behind sixth-placed Villarreal in the race for European football, and they will be looking for maximum points in their next two games against Getafe and Espanyol before the derby with Real Sociedad in the middle of April.
Inigo Martinez, Gorka Guruzeta and Mikel Vesga were on the scoresheet against Real Valladolid, and the victory was their fourth on their travels during the 2022-23 campaign and their 10th overall.
Ernesto Valverde's side have struggled to show consistency in recent months, and they had actually only claimed one point from four matches ahead of their contest with Real Valladolid.
Athletic, who finished eighth in Spain's top flight last season, have drawn each of their last three La Liga matches against Getafe, but they are unbeaten to the capital side in the league since February 2020.
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Getafe, meanwhile, were in strong form ahead of the international break, picking up seven points from their last three league matches against Girona, Cadiz and Sevilla.
The Deep Blue Ones have moved away from the relegation zone due to their recent results, now sitting 13th in the table, although they are only three points ahead of the bottom three.
Munir El Haddadi sent Getafe ahead in the 50th minute of their contest with Sevilla last time out, before Enes Unal doubled the home side's advantage in the fifth minute of added time at the end of the 90.
Quique Sanchez Flores's side are still involved in a relegation battle despite their recent form, and they have three tough matches at the start of April, travelling to Athletic and then Real Sociedad, before welcoming division leaders Barcelona to the Spanish capital.
The Deep Blue Ones have picked up 10 points from their 12 away league games this season, winning just twice in the process, while they have only managed 11 goals away from home in 2022-23.
Team News
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Athletic will again be without the services of Inigo Lekue, Jon Morcillo, Unai Simon and Ander Herrera for this weekend's contest through injury.
However, the Basque side did not suffer any fresh issues in their win over Real Valladolid last time out, so it would not be a surprise to see the same XI take to the field for this match.
Inaki Williams and Nico Williams will again feature in the wide positions, with Oihan Sancet operating behind lone centre-forward Gorka Guruzeta.
As for Getafe, Mauro Arambarri and Jordan Amavi will again miss the contest due to injury problems, while Gaston Alvarez is suspended following his yellow card against Sevilla last time out.
The visitors will have two returning defenders in the shape of Domingos Duarte and Omar Alderete, though, with the pair available again after being banned against Sevilla.
Head coach Sanchez Flores is unlikely to find a reason to change his attack for this match, with El Haddadi and Unal, who both scored last time out against Sevilla, being joined by Borja Mayoral.
Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Agirrezabala; De Marcos, Yeray, I Martinez, Yuri; D Garcia, Vesga; I Williams, Sancet, N Williams; Guruzeta
Getafe possible starting lineup:
Soria; Dakonam, Duarte, Alderete; Suarez, Maksimovic, Milla, Portu; Mayoral, Unal, El Haddadi
We say: Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Getafe
This has all of the makings of a very interesting match, and it will be fascinating to see what develops on Saturday, especially considering Getafe's recent form. Athletic need to win to stay in touch with the top six, though, and we are just backing the hosts to navigate their way to an important three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
