Fresh from their elimination in the semi-finals of the Europa League, Athletic Bilbao will resume their La Liga campaign with a home fixture against fellow Basque outfit Alaves on Sunday evening.
Athletic are currently fourth in the La Liga table, four points ahead of sixth-placed Real Betis in the race for Champions League qualification, while Alaves are 17th, three points clear of the relegation zone.
Match preview
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Athletic had been dreaming of a home final in the Europa League this season, but it was not to be for the Lions, who suffered a 7-1 aggregate defeat to Manchester United as the Red Devils marched into the final at San Mames against Tottenham Hotspur.
Ernesto Valverde's side gave themselves a hint of a chance when Mikel Jauregizar scored a stunner on Thursday night to send Athletic 1-0 ahead at Old Trafford, but Man United's quality told in the end, as the Red Devils won 4-1 in the second leg.
Athletic's attention is now firmly on La Liga, and it would be disastrous for them to drop out of the top five at this stage of proceedings, but the team are currently in control of a Champions League spot for next season.
The Lions are fourth in the table, three points clear of fifth-placed Villarreal and four ahead of sixth-placed Real Betis, and their home form in La Liga this season has been excellent, picking up 36 points from 17 matches.
Athletic drew 0-0 with Real Sociedad in La Liga last weekend, and they have only won one of their last three in Spain's top flight, so Alaves will be eyeing a huge result at the home of their Basque rivals on Sunday.
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Alaves are locked in a relegation battle, with 35 points from their 34 league matches this season leaving them in 17th spot in the table, three points ahead of 18th-placed Las Palmas with four games left.
The Blue and Whites have only been beaten in one of their last five league matches, while they have collected five points from their last three matches, drawing with Sevilla and Atletico Madrid either side of a home success over Real Sociedad.
Eduardo Coudet's team are actually unbeaten in their last five league games on their travels, while they have not lost to a side other than Barcelona or Atletico Madrid away from home since the start of November.
Alaves will undoubtedly be the fresher of the two teams, while they held Athletic to a 1-1 draw in the reverse match earlier this season, so confidence will be high in the away side's camp.
El Glorioso actually finished 10th in Spain's top flight last term; it has been a much more testing campaign for the club in 2024-25, but securing another season of La Liga football would be a huge positive.
Team News
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Athletic will welcome Dani Vivian back into their starting side after the centre-back missed the second leg of the European contest with Man United on Thursday night due to a suspension.
The Lions were also missing their three leading goalscorers this season at Old Trafford, with Nico Williams, Inaki Williams and Oihan Sancet all out, and it remains to be seen if any of the trio recover in time for this match.
Gorka Guruzeta is likely to be introduced in the final third of the field, but the hosts will be missing two key players in the shape of Andoni Gorosabel and Alex Berenguer due to La Liga suspensions.
As for Alaves, Abdel Abqar remains a doubt due to a hamstring problem, but the away side are otherwise in excellent shape.
Head coach Coudet could name the same side that took to the field for the first whistle against Atletico last time out, including spots for Carlos Vicente and Carles Alena in the wide positions.
There will also be a position through the middle for the experienced Kike Garcia, who has scored 12 times in Spain's top flight during an excellent campaign.
Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Simon; De Marcos, Vivian, Paredes, Lekue; Benat, Jauregizar; Djalo, Vesga, U Gomez; Guruzeta
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Sivera; Tenaglia, Garces, Mourino, Sanchez; Blanco, Guevara; Vicente, Guridi, Alena; Kike Garcia
We say: Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Alaves
Should Athletic receive an injury boost ahead of the match, with any of their key forwards being available, then we could side with a home victory here. However, as it stands, we can see Alaves being good enough to secure a share of the spoils on Sunday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
