Athletic Club will never get a better opportunity to return to winning ways than a clash with last placed Girona. The Lions still haven’t scored a goal in September, but facing the worst defence in the league should be a game changer.
How do you start a season with three wins in a row, including over serious teams like Real Betis, and then lose three in a row? This is the story of Athletic Bilbao’s season start, as the Lions haven’t scored in three consecutive games, most recently losing 2-0 to Valencia. Sooner or later, the crisis will end, as Bilbao have extremely talented players at their disposal. Perhaps all they need is one strong performance and they couldn’t wish for a more suitable opponent.
Girona’s downfall continued at the start of the new campaign after escaping relegation by a single point, finishing 16th. Remember when they played in the Champions League a year ago? In contrast, Michel’s side has won a single point after five rounds in 2025. Girona reside in the bottom of the table, with a worrying 2:15 goal difference. Playing at San Mames can be a nightmare, and this could turn out to be Michel’s last match with Girona, depending on the outcome.
How the bookies view it: Athletic to get back to winning ways
Despite the terrible forms of the two sides, bookmakers have a clear favourite and give Athletic Bilbao just 1/2 to win on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Girona are in their usual underdog position and are available at 6/1. The draw is currently priced at 7/2.
Recent head-to-head: Both teams won at home last season
The Athletic Club – Girona matchup has often proven unpredictable in recent years, with both sides claiming the spoils on multiple occasions. Athletic have the edge with five wins to four in 10 H2Hs, which proves how tight this rivalry is. But what matters ahead of this match is the fact Bilbao won four of the five home matches against Girona since 2017.
Players to watch: Sancet can't wait to punish Girona again
Picking a player from either squad is a difficult task due to the performances of both sides. Athletic Club haven’t scored in three consecutive games, while Girona have scored only two goals this season. For our pick, we are going back to the previous clash between Bilbao and Girona at San Mames and Oihan Sancet’s performance. The 25-year-old was phenomenal for Bilbao last season, finishing the campaign with 15 La Liga goals, but his highlight performance was against Girona, when he scored a hat-trick.
Probable line-ups
Athletic Bilbao: Simon, Areso, Laporte, Paredes, Berchiche, de Galarreta, Jauregizar, Berenguer, Sancet, Navarro, Williams
Girona: Gazzaniga, Moreno, Blind, Rincon, Martinez, Martin, Anahi, Solis, Roca, Vanat
Anything else catch the eye?
Both sides have to deal with injuries and suspensions, including key absentees like Bilbao’s Nico Williams. But on paper, Athletic Club should be able to handle this Girona side with ease even if they didn’t have a single striker available. What’s been happening is unusual, as San Mames is typically a fortress and even title favourites are often required to give 101% to beat Bilbao there.
A bit against the odds, we expect to see at least three goals in this match. Four of the last five games between Bilbao and Girona ended with BTTS or Over 2.5 goals, or in fact – both. We know that Bilbao are capable of scoring 3+ alone, but we also expect Girona to add at least one to the total. The Blanquivermells conceded 15 goals across their first five games this season, which should boost Bilbao's confidence.
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