Athletic Bilbao have made an impressive start to their Europa League campaign and the Basque will be confident of taking another stride towards the knockout stages when they face Slavia Prague at the San Mames.
Los Leones memorably reached the final of this tournament under Marcelo Bielsa back in 2012, only to run out of gas as they crashed 3-0 against Atletico Madrid in the showpiece.
They once again have a squad capable of reaching the latter stages, especially with canny boss Ernesto Valverde back for a third spell at the helm. Athletic Club started out with a good point on the road against Roma, as a scorer bet landed for our man Andy, then followed it up by beating AZ Alkmaar 2-0 at home.
They've also lost just one of their last eight in all competitions so Slavia Prague will need to be on top form to stand a chance at San Mames.
The Czechs were pipped to a Champions League place by Lille in the play-offs but have started well after dropping down to the Europa League. A win over Ludogorets and a draw with Ajax proves they are no pushovers so this should be a competitive game.
How the bookies view it: Czech mate for Athletic Club
With Athletic Bilbao so strong at home under Valverde, it's no surprise to see them as Betano's 8/11 favourites. Slavia Prague are 10/3 outsiders and the draw pays 13/5.
Head to head: Slavia have a head Spart
These sides have never faced off in Europe before but Athletic Bilbao have faced Slavia's city rivals Sparta four times before. The Basques failed to claim a win in any of those games, with two draws and two defeats, so Slavia will be hoping that's an omen.
Players to watch: Inaki upstaging his brother
The Williams brothers bring a bit of stardust to this Athletic Bilbao team and Inaki is in better scoring form than his more lauded sibling Nico. A weekend double made it three goals from as many games and Inaki is 21/10 with Bet365 for anytime scorer here.
Tomas Chory scored for Slavia in their draw with Ajax and is on six goals for the season. He looks their best bet for a goal in Bilbao and is 10/3 for anytime scorer.
Probable line-ups
Keeper Unai Simon is still out for Athletic Bilbao and they have doubts over Mikel Vesga and Oihan Sancet. Slavia Prague have more injury concerns, with Igoh Ogbu, Ivan Schranz, Lukas Vorlicky, Daniel Fila, Tomas Vlcek and Jindrich Stanek all missing out at the weekend.
Athletic Bilbao: Agirrezabala, Gorosabel, Vivian, Paredes, Berchiche, Berenguer, I Williams, N Williams, Ruiz de Galarreta, Jauregizar, Guruzeta.
Slavia Prague: Kinsky, Holes, Zima, Zmrzly, Wallem, Michez, Dorley, Doudera, Prebsl, Chytil, Chory
Anything else catch the eye?
Slavia Prague's last Euro outing was pretty spicy as nine yellows and a red were flashed in the draw with Ajax. They followed that up with an even crazier game as the derby with Sparta saw two reds and 14 yellows.
That suggests the card markets could offer some value here and it could pay to back a busy night for the ref when the bookies get round to pricing it up.
It has been a blank Czech just twice this season for Slavia as they have scored in every other game. That's why BTTS is just 3/4 at Betano but adding on over 2.5 goals boosts the odds to 13/10 at Bet365.
This UEFA Europa League match between Athletic Bilbao and Slavia Prague will be played on Oct 24, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Athletic Bilbao vs Slavia Prague prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
