Athletic Bilbao welcome Mallorca to San Mames for a Spanish La Liga fixture on Saturday. Both teams are looking to snap out of recent struggles, with the hosts keen to get things back on track in front of their fans.
Things appear to have gone eerily wrong for Athletic Bilbao, who are winless in their last seven matches in all competitions, losing six times on this run. Ernesto Valverde's men were beaten 1-0 at Villarreal last time out in La Liga before falling 4-1 at Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League.
One positive for Athletic Bilbao is that they have done some good work at San Mames this season. The Basque club are unbeaten in three of their last four La Liga home matches and will be keen to channel some of those performances on Saturday.
Mallorca travel to San Mames off the back of a 1-0 home victory over Alaves in their previous La Liga fixture. Takuma Asano struck the only goal midway through the first half, and they were able to hold on for the win.
That was the first win of the season for Mallorca, who have endured a difficult time so far. Manager Jagoba Arrasate will look to use that result as a spark, but the visitors have lost all three of their away matches this term.
How the bookies view it: Bilbao on top
Athletic Bilbao have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 4/9 by BoyleSports to claim the win. A victory for Mallorca is valued at 11/2 while a draw is set at odds of 14/5.
Head to head: Bilbao with the edge
Athletic Bibao have a 3-1 advantage with six draws in the last 10 matches across all competitions. Both teams drew their two matches last season, with the clash at San Mames ending in a 1-1 scoreline.
Players to watch: Eyes on Sannadi
Maroan Sannadi often features in attack for Athletic Bilbao and could be the one to watch on Saturday. Oihan Sancet and Mikel Jauregizar also carry a goal threat from midfield and can help the hosts produce over 1.5 goals (Athletic Bilbao over 1.5 goals – valued at 3/4 with BoyleSports).
Mallorca also have attacking quality of their own, with Vedat Muriqi scoring four La Liga goals this season. The striker has a solid partnership with Marc Domenech, and both men could combine to produce over 0.5 goals for the visitors (Mallorca over 0.5 goals – offered at 20/21).
Probable line-ups:
Athletic Bilbao have injury problems, with Alex Berenguer, Mikel Vesga and Nico Williams all sidelined. Aymeric Laporte was a second-half substitute in the Champions League and could be handed a start here, while Sannadi and Sancet are set to retain their spots in the team.
Mallorca will be without Omar Mascarell and Marash Kumbulla, who are both sidelined with injury, while Dani Rodriguez is suspended for this clash. Muriqi and Domenech should continue their attacking partnership while Martin Valjent is set to feature at the back.
Athletic Bilbao: Simon, Gorosabel, Vivian, Laporte, Lekue, Jauregizar, Rego, Williams, Sancet, Gomez, Sannadi
Mallorca: Roman, Maffeo, Valjent, Raillo, Mojica, Dardar, Costa, Morlanes, Joseph, Domenech, Muriqi
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams have scored in two of their last three meetings (BTTS YES – available at 13/10 with BoyleSports). There have been goals in each half in two of Athletic Bilbao’s last three matches (Goal in each half – priced at 20/21).
Athletic Bilbao have led at the break in two of the last three home matches against Mallorca (Athletic Bilbao halftime win – set at odds of 11/10).
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