San Mames will play host to an intriguing La Liga affair on Saturday evening, as Athletic Bilbao welcome Atletico Madrid, with both sides yet to find their best form this season.
Athletic will enter the contest off the back of a 1-0 victory over Valencia on Wednesday, while Atletico drew 0-0 with Espanyol at Wanda Metropolitano on the same night.
Match preview
© Imago
Athletic opened their 2024-25 La Liga campaign with a 1-1 draw against Getafe on August 15, before suffering a 2-1 defeat to Barcelona last weekend, which meant that there was a degree of pressure on them leading into Wednesday's clash with Valencia at San Mames.
It was far from a blockbuster performance from the Lions against Los Che, but they managed to secure all three points courtesy of a 45th-minute goal from Benat Prados.
Four points from three matches has left Ernesto Valverde's side in 10th spot in the table, and they will be eyeing another three points ahead of the September international break.
Athletic have made three signings thus summer, with the biggest of those proving to be Alvaro Djalo, but their best piece of business has been keeping hold of Nico Williams, as Barcelona, Arsenal and Liverpool are among the clubs said to have been keen to sign him during the current window.
The Basque outfit suffered a 3-1 defeat to Atletico when the two teams last locked horns back in April, but they recorded a 2-0 victory in the corresponding contest during the 2023-24 campaign.
© Imago
Atletico are unbeaten in La Liga this season, but it would be fair to say that the capital giants are yet to find their groove, having shared the points in two of their opening three matches.
Diego Simeone's side drew 2-2 with Villarreal in their campaign opener before recording a 3-0 victory over Girona last weekend, but they were unable to build on that result, being held to a goalless draw by Espanyol at Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday night.
Atletico are fourth in the table with five points to show from their three matches, and they will return to action after the international break with a home fixture against Valencia.
The Red and Whites, who finished fourth in La Liga last season, have been very active in the transfer market, signing Julian Alvarez, Conor Gallagher, Robin Le Normand, Alexander Sorloth, Juan Musso and Clement Lenglet to boost their squad.
Joao Felix has been the club's major outgoing this summer in terms of a fee, but they have also sold the likes of Samu Omorodion, Alvaro Morata and Caglar Soyuncu.
- D
- L
- W
- D
- W
- D
Team News
© Imago
Athletic are currently without the services of four players through injury, with Yuri Berchiche, Aitor Paredes, Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta and Unai Simon unavailable for selection.
The Basque outfit did not pick up any fresh issues against Valencia, but there is expected to be a couple of changes to the side, with Nico Williams and Mikel Vesga likely to be introduced.
Djalo started down the left against Valencia, and that should again be the case in this match, with Nico Williams potentially operating in a false nine position against Simeone's team.
As for Atletico, Marcos Paulo remains unavailable for selection, but the capital outfit are otherwise in strong shape, with Simeone having a lot of options, particularly in midfield and attack.
There will be changes from the side that started against Espanyol, with Antoine Griezmann and Jose Gimenez set to return to the XI, while Samuel Lino could move back into a wing-back role.
Griezmann is likely to play slightly deeper to allow Sorloth and Alvarez to continue as the front two, but new signings Lenglet and Gallagher are again likely to be on the bench for the first whistle.
Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Agirrezabala; De Marcos, Vivian, Yeray, Boiro; Vesga, Prados; I Williams, Sancet, Djalo; N Williams
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Molina, Le Normand, Witsel, Gimenez, Lino; De Paul, Koke, Griezmann; Sorloth, Alvarez
We say: Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Atletico Madrid
This is a tough match to call, and we are finding it very hard to separate them. There has not actually been a draw between these two sides since September 2021, but we believe that a tight game on Saturday will end with the spoils being shared.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
