Both Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid will be looking to bounce back from defeats when they lock horns in Spain’s top flight on Saturday evening.
Athletic suffered a 3-0 home loss to Real Madrid on Wednesday, while Atletico saw their winning run snapped by Barcelona, going down 3-1 to the reigning La Liga champions.
Match preview
There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a disappointing 2025-26 campaign to date for Athletic, who are down in eighth spot in the La Liga tablepicking up 20 points from their 15 matches.
The Lions are 11 points behind fourth-placed Atletico, and as mentioned, will enter this match off the back of a 3-0 home defeat to Real Madrid, with the Basque outfit finding it difficult to deal with Los Blancos superstar Kylian Mbappe.
Ernesto Valverde’s side have also struggled in the Champions League this term, sitting down in 27th spot in the overall table, only claiming four points from five matches, and injuries have taken their toll in the opening months of the campaign.
Athletic have picked up 13 points from their eight home league games this season, and they will be welcoming an Atletico side that have only managed to post two wins on their travels, scoring just eight times in their seven games away from Wanda Metropolitano.
The Lions have tackled Atletico on 210 previous occasions, boasting a record of 79 wins, 96 defeats and 35 draws – each of their last three meetings have been won by Atletico, including a 1-0 success in the corresponding match last term.
© Imago
Atletico last lost to Athletic in the league in December 2023, and Diego Simeone’s side will be determined to return to winning ways on Saturday, having suffered a 3-1 defeat to reigning champions and division leaders Barcelona on Tuesday.
The Red and Whites brought a seven-game winning run into the clash at Camp Nou, but they were unable to overcome Hansi Flick’s side, who now sit six points ahead of Atletico at the top of the La Liga table.
Atletico are five points behind second-placed Real Madrid and one from Villarreal in third, meanwhile, so it is very tight at the top of the division heading towards the winter break.
Simeone’s team will be aiming to finish 2025 with league wins over Athletic, Valencia and Girona, while they also have a huge Champions League clash away to PSV Eindhoven on December 9.
Unsurprisingly, Atletico have again been strong at home this season, but they have struggled for inspiration on the road, so Saturday’s affair at San Mames is shaping up to be an interesting contest between two wounded teams.
Athletic Bilbao La Liga form:
Flush
Athletic Bilbao form (all competitions):
Flawed
Atletico Madrid La Liga form:
WWWWWL
Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):
WWWWWL
Team News
© Imago
Athletic will once again be without the services of Yeray Alvarez on Saturday through suspension, while Robert Navarro, Unai Egiluz, Maroan Sannadi and Benat Prados will not feature due to injury problems.
Oihan Sancet will make a timely return to the squad after missing out against Real Madrid through suspension, but Inaki Williams remains a major doubt, with the experienced attacker still battling to overcome a groin injury.
Alejandro Rego is expected to drop out of the side to make room for the returning Sancet, while Nico Williams will again operate off the left.
As for Atletico, Robin Le Normand and Marcos Llorente remain major doubts, while Alex Baena and Jonny Cardoso both need to be assessed after being substituted in the clash with Barcelona last time out.
Head coach Simeone will make changes from the side that started at Camp Nou, with Cardoso highly unlikely to feature, while no risks will be taken with Baena.
Koke and Conor Gallagher could both be introduced into the midfield this weekend, while there is likely to be a return in the final third of the field for Alexander Sorloth.
Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Simon; Lekue, Vivian, Laporte, Boiro; Ruiz de Galarreta, Palace; Berenguer, Sancet, N Williams; the cross
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Molina, Gimper, Reader, Hancko; Simeone, Coke, Barrios, French; Sorloth, Alvarez
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