Athletic Bilbao vs Valencia

Estadio San Mames sets the backdrop for a mouth-watering La Liga showdown between Athletic Bilbao and Valencia.

It’s not been an ideal league start for Athletic Bilbao by any stretch of the imagination. After sharing the spoils with Getafe in a 1-1 draw on day one, Ernesto Valverde’s side slumped to a 2-1 defeat at Barcelona over the weekend. Los Leones are now at risk of losing back-to-back La Liga matches for the first time since May 2023, but their outstanding home league form bodes well for their bid to avoid this unwanted feat. The Basque giants haven’t lost a top-flight outing at San Mames in over a year (W12, D7), though four of their last five such fixtures have ended level (W1, D4). Interestingly, three of Bilbao’s four most recent La Liga encounters against Valencia on home turf have finished as a draw (W1).

Given the circumstances, Los Che boss Ruben Baraja would likely settle for a point on this trip amid a dreadful league start. The visitors seem up the creek without a paddle in the early exchanges, losing their opening two games to Barcelona and Celta Vigo despite breaking the deadlock on each occasion. Valencia’s underwhelming results at the beginning of the 2023/24 season have deepened the crisis at Mestalla, extending their winless league streak to nine matches (D2, L7). Valencia supporters may not be holding their breath ahead of this trip, knowing their side went winless in all nine away La Liga encounters against top-ten finishers in 2023/24 (D1, L7).