Athletic Bilbao haven’t had an especially easy start to their Primera Division campaign and will be aiming to gain some real momentum by defeating Mallorca at San Mames on Tuesday evening.
Los Leones recorded an opening day victory over newly promoted Hercules by a 1-0 margin but would then succumb in the Basques Lands to in-form Atletico Madrid. It seemed on Saturday that they were heading for successive defeats as they went 2-0 down against Sporting de Gijon, but they came back into that match thanks to efforts from Carlos Gurpegui and Fernando Llorente, who saved them a point.
“We must be much stronger in defence, but there is much merit in the draw because in Spanish football to come back from 2-0 down is very complicated,” coach Joaquin Caparros told the media. “We have lacked a bit of luck, but I am left with a positive viewpoint because we have scored a point that had become very difficult.”
Despite losing to los Colchoneros in their opening Liga match in the Basque Country this term, Athletic boast a reputation for being inhospitable hosts, with the fans in their tightly packed venue loud and almost on top of the pitch. Against a Mallorca side who continue to toil on the road, they will expect to extract maximum points from this fixture.
The split persona of Mallorca continued to develop at the weekend as they picked up three points from their home encounter against Osasuna. Gonzalo Castro put the Islanders ahead from the spot midway through the first half before Jonathan De Guzman’s effort late in stoppage time at the end of the match simply served to tie the points up.
“This was a very important win, but it is important for us to have more control of matches. However, perfection does not exist, and certainly not in football,” coach Michael Laudrup considered after the match.
“As we reach a better level of performance, the key thing is to score points. I can say the same as [Real Madrid coach Jose] Mourinho in that my teams play better in the second year. Everything will come, but first we must get points.”
The Dane’s biggest problem is his side’s road form. On the opening day of the season Mallorca showed their pedigree by holding Real Madrid to a scoreless home draw, yet that was followed up with a disappointing 2-0 defeat by Sporting de Gijon. This was a pattern displayed over the course of last season and will be a major crutch to the Balearic side’s efforts unless they can somehow overcome their mental block when playing on their travels.
Prediction
Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Mallorca 
