Athletic Bilbao vs Girona
La Liga. Kick-off: 8pm, Monday 10th December. Live on Eleven Sports 1
GAIZKA GARITANO doesn't have to look too far for advice as he bids to save Athletic Bilbao from being relegated for the first time in their proud history.
The new San Mames boss just needs to pick up the phone and give his dad Angel a call as he was assistant manager when Athletic last sent out an SOS to avoid the unthinkable.
That was 12 years ago and Angel succeeded in his mission alongside manager Jose Manuel Esnal but only after a nerve-shredding final day when they beat Levante to avoid the drop.
Now Gaizka has been thrust into the hotseat, promoted from Bilbao's B team after a 3-0 thrashing by Levante last weekend ended Eduardo Berizzo's disastrous reign.
I fancied Athletic to get their campaign up and running with a much-needed win last week but instead they turned in their worst performance of the season.
Berizzo had to go, having won just a single game in La Liga all season, and now Garitano is charged with the task of getting more out of a squad that really should be too good to go down.
A home game against Girona may not seem like the most daunting of starts but the visitors head into the game on the back of a fine run of form.
They are unbeaten in eight games in all competitions, a run that includes wins over Valencia, Espanyol and Alaves, so Girona will head to the San Mames confident of victory.
Athletic also have a crisis in defence, mainly of their own making due to a series of suspensions. Big summer signings Yuri and Inigo Martinez are banned along with Peru Nolaskoain while Mikel Balenziaga remains sidelined through injury.
Garitano will have to cobble together a makeshift defence so Girona's price of 29/10 with 888 Sport looks pretty generous. But they have a few injuries themselves and former Celtic loan star Patrick Roberts is among those to miss out.
Much will depend on how much of a bounce Athletic Bilbao, who are 888 Sport's 19/20 favourites, get from their new boss. They eased to a 4-0 win at Huesca in the Copa Del Rey in midweek but that game was already effectively over a 4-0 first-leg win at the San Mames.
Their front three of Aritz Aduriz, Iker Muniain and Inaki Williams have the talent to punish even the finest in La Liga so I'd be tempted to go for goals in this one.
Over 2.5 goals is 26/25 and if you want to stretch the odds further you can get 27/10 with 888 Sport for over 3.5 goals. Both teams to score also seems to be a pretty safe bet and that's 4/5 with 888 Sport.
Aduriz and Williams head the goalscorer markets, with both 19/4 for first scorer with 888 Sport and 15/8 for anytime scorer.
But there's better value in Girona's Cristhian Stuani as the Uruguayan is in good form and takes his side's penalties. He is 5/1 for first scorer and 2/1 to net at any time in the 90 minutes
Recommended bets
- Over 2.5 goals 26/5 (888 Sport)
- Both teams to score 4/5 (888 Sport)
- Cristhian Stuani anytime scorer 2/1 (888 Sport)
I'm a sports journalist, football tipster and author from Dundee, who is now working in Glasgow. I've covered games at every level, from Junior football to internationals, and still love football even though it has clearly sold its soul. I've been in football tipping since 2018 with the MFT site.
In December 2020 we sadly 
