Sitting sixth in the Primera Division, Athletic Bilbao can still hold out legitimate hope of qualifying for Europe this season, particularly as Real Madrid and Barcelona will compete the Copa del Rey final, opening another Europa League place to be won via La Liga. On Saturday they host Sporting de Gijon, hopeful of moving three points closer to their goal.
Few teams command a home record as imperious at Athletic’s. San Mames is always an intimidating venue for teams to travel too, and this season is proving to be little different. Already they have chalked up eight successes in only 11 matches, but it will have been a 2-0 success against Atletico Madrid last weekend that will have given the squad particularly reason to be satisfied.
Goals in either half from Toquero were good enough to guide los Leones to a third successive victory for the first time this season, giving the Basque side confidence of picking up a fourth win on the spin. “Europe is possible if we remain constant,” Pablo Orbaiz told Marca with some confidence. “We cannot forfeit a game.”
Winning four matches in a row would be a massive achievement for Athletic, who are no longer one of Spanish football’s genuine giants. Securing three more points would help improve their growing status under Joaquin Caparros.
Fab Four
Sporting de Gijon are a side firmly on the up. The recent form of the Asturian outfit has been very strong indeed, carrying them away from immediate danger and up towards the middle of the table. There is a very definite split in the Primera Division standings, and the club who hail from El Molinon will have to bridge that gap if they are to secure safety though.
Remarkably, they’ve managed to pick up three successive victories in league play, having earned only two victories over the course of the whole campaign previously. Not only have los Sportinguistas earned their success, they have done so without conceding a goal against Hercules, Atletico Madrid or Mallorca, who were blown away 4-0 last weekend.
“There have been games where we played much better today and we lost,” coach Manuel Preciado reasoned to the media last weekend. “A month ago everything was black and now everything looks white, but not too much.”
Preciado will attempt to stick with an unchanged starting XI for the fourth successive match as he attempts to ensure the positive momentum of recent weeks is carried forward. With one defeat in seven, Sporting are not a side who should be considered a pushover, and even Barcelona, whom they play next weekend, will not look at the fixture and consider it easy.
TEAM NEWS
Athletic
Ekiz Borja seems to have shaken off a knock and should start, though Fernando Amorebieta is closing in on first team action once again. Urko Vera could debut but third choice goalkeeper Aitor Fernandez is missing after a finger operation. Ibai Gomez and Jon Aurtenetxe are long-term issues, while Javi Martinez is banned.
Sporting
No alterations are expected in Manuel Preciado’s starting XI. Andre Castro and Nacho Novo will have to be happy with spots on the bench. Alberto Botia and Luis Moran are selection issues.
Prediction
Sporting’s success last weekend shows that they can be effective, but they will find the going very tough against Athletic Bilbao. Los Leones generally expect to out-battle any opponents at San Mames, and they should be too good for their weekend guests.
Athletic Bilbao 2-0 Sporting de Gijon 
