Athletic Bilbao vs Elche Preview: Team News & Prediction
by Alex Lawes ·
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Athletic Club are beginning to show some very positive signs as the Basque giants now welcome a struggling Elche side to San Mames on Saturday.
Kick-off date/time:
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Athletic Bilbao preview: Impressive Athletic
Following the appointment of former Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic, Athletic Club were unfortunate to begin with successive losses against Sevilla and Barcelona but they have now shown very positive signs as they head through into the autumn.
Athletic eased to a comfortable and impressive 2-0 defeat of Celta Vigo at Balaidos a fortnight ago before they then hammered Atletico Madrid by three goals to nil at San Mames last weekend with Oihan Sancet in superb form in particular.
Elche preview: Struggling Elche
Elche narrowly escaped relegation last season, doing so on the final day of the season with Eder Sarabia at the helm but he has been replaced by former Porto boss Martin Anselmi – who has yet to get a win on the board for Elche this season.
They were outplayed for most of their last game against Real Sociedad but did fight back from 2-0 down with a stirring comeback to make it 2-2 late on before Luka Sucic then gave La Real a late win against the run of play in Elche.
Athletic Bilbao team news: Yeray should be out
Athletic centre-back Yeray Alvarez should be unavailable for this one if he was to correctly follow concussion protocols, with fellow defenders Dani Vivian and Unai Egiluz both still unavailable, too.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Unai Simon; Jesus Areso, Aitor Paredes, Laporte, Yuri Berchiche; Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta, Benat Gerenabarrena; Robert Navarro, Oihan Sancet, Nico Williams; Inaki Williams
Unavailable: Dani Vivian (Injured), Unai Egiluz (Injured), Peio Canales (Injured)
Questionable: Yeray (Concussion)
Elche team news: Nothing fresh
Elche head to the Basque Country with no fresh injury concerns or suspension issues, albeit midfielder Yago Santiago is still a doubt due to a knee injury sustained in May.
Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Matias Dituro; Sangare, Victor Chust, Pablo Bigas; Tete Morente, Javi Morcillo, Gustavo Villar, German Valera; Lemar, Buonanotte; Fer Nino
Unavailable:
Questionable: Yago Santiago (Injured)
Athletic Bilbao vs Elche prediction
Martin Anselmi did get his Elche side to play with a bit more proactivity in the second half of their eventual defeat to Real Sociedad and they will likely seek to continue that against La Real’s arch-rivals in Bilbao. However, Athletic were unfortunate in defeats to Sevilla and Barcelona and now look to be getting into their own groove – and they are firm favourites for this one, especially at San Mames.
Athletic Bilbao vs Elche tip: Athletic Bilbao to win
