One of the standout games in La Liga this weekend takes place at San Mames on Sunday afternoon Sporty Bilbao greeting Villarreal for an interesting matter.

Athletic is fourth in the La Liga tablehaving collected 29 points from 16 games this season while Villarreal are fifth with 26 points, but the Yellow Submarine still have two games left here.

Game preview

© Imago

Athletic go into Sunday’s contest with four straight wins in all competitions, including one 2-1 win over champions Real Madrid on Wednesday evening, with Gorka Guruzeta He came on as a substitute and scored the winning goal in San Mames.

The Lions are on a run of three consecutive league wins, including a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad in the Basque derby at the end of November, while they beat Elfsborg 3-0 in the Europa League last month to move up to the moved up to second place Overall table and put yourself in an excellent position to qualify for the next stage.

Ernesto ValverdeIn fact, the Barcelona team are unbeaten in their last 10 games in all competitions and sit fourth in the table with a record of eight wins, five draws and three defeats from 16 league games this season.

Athletic are just three points behind third-placed Atlético Madrid and four from Real Madrid in second place, while they have performed excellently on home soil this season, taking 18 points from nine games, the second-best record in the division.

The Lions have lost just once to Villarreal in Spain’s top flight since September 2018, but the points were shared in a 1-1 draw when the two teams met in San Mames last season.

© Imago

Villarreal suffered defeat against Pontevedra in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday evening, losing 1-0 to the fourth division club. With no European football this season, the Yellow Submarine only has to focus on the league.

MarcelinoThe Barcelona team suffered defeat in their last two La Liga games against Osasuna and Girona, but a strong season has seen them collect 26 points from 14 games so far and are fifth in the table.

Villarreal have at least a game in hand against most of the teams around them, but they have played two fewer than Athletic and are only three points behind, so a win in this competition would be huge.

The Yellow Submarine has been a formidable observer in La Liga this season, scoring 27 goals, with only Real Madrid (31) and Barcelona (48) scoring more goals in the 2024-25 season, but they have conceded 23 goals, and their defensive record will certainly do so, they need to improve to be a serious challenger for the top 4 this season.

Villarreal finished a disappointing eighth place last season, so there is room for improvement in the current season and the fact that they can now just focus on the league could help them in the coming months.

Athletic Bilbao La Liga form:

Athletic Bilbao form (all competitions):

Villarreal La Liga form:

Villarreal form (all competitions):

Team news

© Imago

Athletic will probably be missing Other Herrera due to a muscle problem, but otherwise the Lions are in great shape and no new problems were reported from the game against Real Madrid.

Julen Agirrezabala saved a Kylian Mbappe He took a penalty last time out and was able to continue despite the number one returning between the posts Unai Simonwhile Nico Williams And Inaki Williams are specific starters.

The only big decision comes in the final third when Guruzeta scores the winner against Los Blancos, but he is expected to be on the bench again for this game Alex Berenguerwho also netted against the champions and played in the middle.

As for Villarreal, Ramon Terrats, Eric Bailey, Ilias Akhomach, Nicolas Pepe, Juan Foyth And Alfonso Pedraza all dropped out of the competition due to injury Sergi Cardona is suspended due to the important yellow card he picked up against Girona.

Ayoze Perez However, he returned from the bench after injury in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday and the Spaniard, who has scored 10 goals in 11 games in an excellent season, should be fit to lead the team.

There will be major changes compared to the team that opened the cup game Raul Albiol, Yeremy Pino, Santi Comesana, Diego Conde And Alex Baena is expected to be among those returning to the San Mames team.

Possible Athletic Bilbao starting lineup:
Agirrezabala; Gorosabel, Vivian, Yeray, Boiro; Jauregizar, Prados; I Williams, Sancet, N Williams; Berenguer

Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Conde; Femenia, Albiol, Costa, Bernat; Pino, Comesana, Parejo, Baena; Barry, Perez

We say: Athletic Bilbao – Villarreal 1:1

Perez’s return is big news for Villarreal and we expect the Yellow Submarine to take a point here; Athletic are strong at home and will go into the tie with a brilliant result, but in the corresponding game last season it was 1-1 at San Mames and we can see the same result on Sunday.

To data analyze the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this game Please click here.

Previews via email