Athletic Bilbao will be aiming to strengthen their grip on a top-four spot in the La Liga table when they continue their 2024-25 campaign with a home fixture against Leganes on Sunday evening.
The Basque outfit are currently fourth in Spain's top flight, boasting 39 points from their opening 20 matches of the season, while Leganes are 15th, picking up 22 points from their 20 league fixtures this term.
Match preview
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Athletic have enjoyed an excellent La Liga campaign to date, boasting a record of 11 wins, six draws and three defeats from 20 matches, which has left them in fourth spot in the table on 39 points, level on points with third-placed Barcelona.
Ernesto Valverde's side are actually only seven points off the top of the division, so they could be considered to be title contenders, and they were 2-1 winners over Celta Vigo in La Liga last weekend.
The Lions are unbeaten in their last 11 league matches dating back to a 2-1 defeat to Girona at the start of October, winning six of their last seven, but the Basque outfit have been beaten in three of their last four games in all competitions.
Indeed, Athletic lost 2-0 to Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup on January 8 before going out of the Copa del Rey eight days later due to a 3-2 home defeat to Osasuna.
Valverde's team will also enter this match off the back of a loss, going down 4-1 to Besiktas in the Europa League on Thursday, but they are still in an excellent position when it comes to reaching the knockout round of the competition, sitting third in the table.
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Leganes will undoubtedly enter this match as the underdogs, but they will arrive at San Mames full of confidence, boasting a four-game unbeaten run at the start of 2025, including a sensational 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid last time out.
Atletico arrived at Estadio Municipal de Butarque with a 15-game winning run in all competitions, but Diego Simeone's side suffered a 1-0 defeat, with Matija Nastasic scoring the only goal of the match early in the second period.
Borja Jimenez's side have a record of five wins, seven draws and eight defeats from their 20 league matches this season, which has left them in 15th spot in the table on 22 points, three points clear of the relegation zone.
El Lega won the 2023-24 Segunda Division to secure a return to the top flight, and the team have been impressive in their first campaign at this level since 2019-20.
Leganes, who also beat Barcelona 1-0 away from home towards the end of last year, suffered a 2-0 defeat to Athletic in the reverse game earlier this season, but they were 2-0 winners on their last trip to San Mames in July 2020.
Team News
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Athletic will be missing Oihan Sancet due to an ankle problem, but the Basque outfit are otherwise in strong shape for this clash, with no fresh issues being reported following the clash with Besiktas.
Head coach Valverde will make changes to the side that started against Besiktas in the Europa League, with Unai Simon, Adama Boiro, Yeray, Andoni Gorosabel and Inaki Williams all set to return to the XI.
Alex Berenguer could be given the nod through the middle on Sunday, while there is set to be another start in midfield for Mikel Jauregizar, who is believed to be on Real Madrid's radar due to his strong performances this season.
As for Leganes, Juan Soriano will be back in the squad after serving a suspension, but Oscar Rodriguez is still banned, while Renato Tapia and Enric Franquesa will miss the contest due to injury problems.
Due to the manner of the performance against Atletico last time out, it would not be a surprise to see the majority of the XI take to the field for the first whistle on Sunday, including Miguel de la Fuente at centre-forward.
There will have to be a change in the middle of the defence, though, due to Tapia's absence, and his spot could be taken by Jorge Saenz.
Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Simon; Gorosabel, Vivian, Yeray, Boiro; Benat, Gomez, Jauregizar; I Williams, Berenguer, N Williams
Leganes possible starting lineup:
Dmitrovic; Rosier, Gonzalez, Nastasic, Saenz, J Hernandez; Raba, Neyou, Cisse, Cruz; De la Fuente
We say: Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Leganes
Athletic have the third-best home record in La Liga this season, while Leganes have only managed one away victory during the 2024-25 campaign. We are expecting a tricky Leganes outfit to make this a tough match for Athletic, but the Basque outfit should be able to navigate their way to another important three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
