Atheltic Bilbao and Rayo Vallecano both got off to winning starts in La Liga so they head into this clash at the San Mames on matchday two with their tails up.
The only thing missing for Athletic Club last season was a trophy, with Ernesto Valverde's men falling in the semi-finals of the Europa League to Manchester United.
Bilbao was hosting the final so that defeat was particularly painful but securing a Champions League place softened the blow for the Basque giants.
The feelgood factor then continued with the news star player Nico Williams was staying, despite being heavily linked with a move to Barcelona.
With canny boss Valverde at the helm, Athletic Bilbao should enjoy another good campaign and they started with a 3-2 win over Sevilla that brought up a bet for our man Mark.
Rayo Vallecano also impressed last season, with an eighth-placed finish in La Liga booking a return to Europe for the first time in 25 years.
They kicked off the new season with a 3-1 win in Girona but this trip to Bilbao comes between both legs of their Conference League play-off with Neman Grodno.
Rayo took on the Belarusian side in Hungary on Thursday night so fatigue could be a factor when they return to domestic duties.
How the bookies view it: Rayo written off
With Rayo Vallecano coming off the back of a Thursday night away game in Europe, BoyleSports make them 9/2 outsiders. Athletic Bilbao are hot favourites at 7/10 and the draw pays 5/2.
Recent head to head: Bilbao bossing it
Atheltic Bilbao have been a bogey team for Rayo Vallecano of late, with the last seven meetings producing six wins for the Basques and a draw. Bilbao beat Rayo 2-1 away from home last term then claimed a 3-1 victory at the San Mames.
Players to watch: Nico's on song
Nico Williams can play with a bit of freedom now the transfer rumours have died down and he opened his account for the season with a penalty against Sevilla. The winger is 3/1 at Paddy Power for anytime scorer and the same price at Unibet for over 1.5 shots on target.
Jorge De Frutos ended last term well for Rayo, scoring in two of his last three games, and got off the mark in this campaign with a goal in Girona. He's as big as 6/1 for a goal here at Paddy Power and looks good at 13/8 with Bet365 just to have an effort on target.
Probable line-ups
Athletic Club are still without Unai Gomez, Benat Prados, Oihan Sancet and Unai Egiluz. Rayo are missing Abdul Mumin and Etienne Eto'o while boss Inigo Perez may consider a few changes to freshen things up.
Athletic Bilbao: Simon, Vivian, Paredes, Areso, Berchiche, Berenguer, I Williams, N Williams, Ruiz de Galarreta, Jauregizar, Sannadi.
Rayo Vallecano: Batalla, Ratiu, Chavarria, Fernandez, Lejeune, Gumbau, Ciss, Palazon, Valentin, Garcia, De Frutos.
Anything else catch the eye?
A solid defence was the key to Bilbao's success last term so it was a little surprising to see them concede twice at home to Sevilla in their opener. Rayo scored in both the meetings last term so there could be some value in backing BTTS here at evens with BoyleSports.
The Basques won 7-1 on the corner count in both meetings last term so backing them in that handicap is another good strategy. Unibet price Bilbao -2 at a decent 11/10 while adding on one more corner boosts the odds to 17/10.
Bilbao should prevail with Rayo coming off a European trip and combining the home win with over 1.5 goals takes you to 6/5 at BoyleSports
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