Athletic Bilbao vs Atletico Madrid Preview & Prediction | 2024-25 Spanish Primera
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Saturday presents what is a classic of Spanish football at San Mames in the Basque Country as Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic Club welcome Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid to the north of the country.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Saturday 31st August, 2024 - UK – 6:00pm / US ET – 1:00pm / US PT – 10:00am
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – Premier Sports / US – ESPN have the exclusive rights to La Liga games in the USA, so Athletic Bilbao vs Atletico Madrid may be televised on one of their affiliated channels
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – Premier Sports / US – ESPN+
ATHLETIC BILBAO PREVIEW: MUCH-NEEDED VICTORY
Former Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde delivered Athletic Club their first trophy in 40 years last season as they defeated Real Mallorca on penalties in the final of the Copa del Rey at La Cartuja in Seville and, after finishing fifth, there was a lot of excitement about whether or not the Basque club could push on to qualify for the UEFA Champions League this season.
Well, that excitement subsided in their opening couple of matches of this season as they were frustratingly held to a 1-1 draw by a depleted Getafe side at San Mames on the opening weekend before they were then beaten 2-1 by Barcelona. However, they now come into this one on the back of a much-needed victory over a struggling Valencia side in midweek.
ATLETICO MADRID PREVIEW: FRUSTRATING SAME OLD, SAME OLD
As Diego Simeone continues to evolve his style of football away from the old school ‘Cholismo’, Los Rojiblancos have been blighted by similarly frustrating failings; whether that be unable to defend in certain matches or then not getting the balance right and struggling to break down a team in another.
For example, their opening game was a chaotic 2-2 draw against Villarreal in which all four goals came before half-time with their most recent affair seeing them held to a goalless draw against newly-promoted Espanyol in midweek either side of an impressive 3-0 defeat of a Girona side that finished above them last season.
ATHLETIC BILBAO TEAM NEWS: STILL WITH ISSUES
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Julen Agirrezabala; Oscar de Marcos, Dani Vivian, Yeray Alvarez, Boiro; Benat Prados, Mikel Vesga; Inaki Williams, Oihan Sancet, Nico Williams; Gorka Guruzeta
UNAVAILABLE: Aitor Paredes (Injured), Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta (Injured), Yuri Berchiche (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE: Unai Simon (Injured)
ATLETICO MADRID TEAM NEWS: FULLY FIT AND AVAILABLE
PREDICTED XI (5-3-2): Oblak; Nahuel Molina, Le Normand, Witsel, Cesar Azpilicueta, Rodrigo Riquelme; De Paul, Koke, Gallagher; Julian Alvarez, Griezmann
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE:
ATHLETIC BILBAO VS ATLETICO MADRID PREDICTION
Athletic Club have been able to hold on to Nico Williams and after his excellent performances at UEFA EURO 2024, there is pressure on him to propel Athletic into the top four. They haven’t quite clicked in the final third just yet this season. Atletico Madrid, after spending well over £100 million on the likes of Robin Le Normand, Alexander Sorloth, Julian Alvarez and Conor Gallagher among others, Atleti would actually expect to challenge for the title. This could be quite an entertaining encounter in the Basque Country with both teams scoring seeming a good bet.
ATHLETIC BILBAO VS ATLETICO MADRID TIP: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE
