La Liga: Atletico on the Goal Hunt in the Basque

Athletic Bilbao vs Atletico Madrid

Bilbao is the place to be when the La Liga contest between Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid is slated at the San Mames Stadium this weekend.

Neither team has had an electric start to the 2024-25 campaign, but they have both picked up a win. And over the full season, they will expect to be in the top four battle, and Atleti might even have their eyes on the title race.

After mixed fortunes last weekend, both were in action on Wednesday and had a turnaround.

Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic Bilbao lost 2-1 away to Barcelona last week and then picked up a 1-0 win over Valencia. Meanwhile, Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid beat Girona 3-0 last weekend and then failed to see off Espanyol at home on Wednesday in a 0-0 stalemate.

Simeone’s team will be chasing goals in the Basque, but they will meet a dangerous team and a hostile crowd, so it’s going to be tasty.

 

Talking Points

Bilbao off the mark

Athletic Club earned their first win of the new campaign on Wednesday night as they beat Valencia 1-0 thanks to an early goal from Benat Prados.

After an impressive first season in the Basque, the midfield ace has just signed an extension to his contract, keeping him at the club until 2031, and he celebrated with the winner against Los Ches.

The victory was well-earned and quite a relief for Bilbao after a 1-1 draw at home to Getafe on the opening day. Bilbao’s loss to Barcelona wasn’t entirely unexpected, but a blank against Valencia would have made it a sticky start, and nobody wants to be playing catch-up before September comes.

Euro 2024 sensation Nico Williams has been sidelined over the past couple of weeks, but he made an appearance after an hour on Wednesday, and he came through without problems.

Williams has recently taken some stick from his La Roja co-star Lamine Yamal, who jibed that he’s not strong defensively. However, he’s a brilliant winger who can turn a game with a moment of genius, and there is some question whether or not he will still be with Athletic Club by the weekend. Premier League title chasers Arsenal are said to be keen and may be ready to make a move as the transfer window comes to a close. 

The club had a successful 2024, finishing fifth in the league and winning the Copa del Rey, and fans will be hopeful of more success. But they would dearly love to keep Williams for another year, alongside his big brother Inaki.   

 

Frustration for Atleti against Espanyol

While Bilbao picked up a much need win on Wednesday, Atleti had an infuriating evening after a promising two weeks.

Los Rojiblancos opened up the campaign with a 2-2 draw away to Villarreal and then a clash at home to last season’s surprise package Girona opened the floodgates, as Simeone’s men put in a statement performance with a 3-0 win.

A home game against Espanyol was expected to yield another three points, but Atleti were frustrated, and the goalless stalemate left them in fourth place in the early league table.

Simeone has assembled an exciting attacking unit with summer signing Alexander Sorloth alongside Julian Alvarez, who moved in a £81.5 million switch from Manchester City. And of course, the excellent Antoine Griezmann is still at the club.

Both Alvarez and Sorloth came close to breaking the deadlock against Espanyol, and Rodrigo Riquelme had two goals narrowly chalked off for offside. But, despite having 25 shots and seven on target, Atletico simply couldn’t breach the Espanyol defence.

The visitors are the only team yet to score in La Liga this term, and they will be delighted with a draw.       

The La Liga 2024 betting odds give Los Rojiblancos a big chance of venting their frustration in the direction of Bilbao. And while Sorloth has got off the mark with a strike against Villarreal, Alvarez has a serious thirst for goals.   

 

History

With 35 wins to 20 Los Rojiblancos have had the better of the head-to-heads, but Bilbao haven’t lost at home in 22 matches and beat Atleti twice at the San Mames last season.

First, they won in the league 2-0, and then they went one better with a 3-0 scoreline in the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg.

After winning the first leg 1-0, a record crowd of 52,061 turned up at the San Mames, and they had the night of their lives, as goals from Inaki Williams, Nico Williams, and Gorka Guruzeta saw Simeone’s men off.  

 

Betting Tip

All La Liga 2024 results are in play here with Los Rojiblancos being marginal favourites at a SBOTOP price of 2.36, while Bilbao are at 2.67, and the draw is 3.01.

I’m backing Los Rojiblancos to get back on the win column this weekend at San Mames.

   

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