Though Athletic Bilbao continue to fiercely cling to their roots as a Basque club, that has not forced los Leones a great way down the Primera Division standings. Joaquin Caparros continues to lead the side into the top half of the table, and European football is not a forgotten dream for the San Mames outfit with nearly half the season gone.
While all round them at this time of year whizz transfer rumours, very few are of direct interest to Athletic, whose rejection of globalisation has not yet jeopardised their perfect attendance in Spain’s top division.
As yet, los Leones are still looking for their first win of 2011. They suffered a rare home loss against Deportivo La Coruna on the first weekend of January and followed that up with a 1-1 draw away to improving Malaga.
Despite Racing Santander’s fairly lowly status in the league, Saturday’s hosts are not ready to treat this fixture lightly. “They’re a strong team who will fight a lot and we need to be sure to make chances,” Pablo Orbaiz explained to Marca, echoing similar comments made by Ander Iturraspe.
With six wins from nine home matches, Athletic make formidable opponents at La Catedral and will expect to earn maximum points.
Four Undefeated
Racing Santander are regularly a side who flirt with the relegation zone, but this season, the affair with the bottom three promises to be less intense than it was last term. Since returning from the Segunda Division in 2002, los Montaneses have concluded campaigns either 16th or 17th on five occasions out of eight, but they are set to improve that ratio this time around.
Presently 14th in the standings, los Verdiblancos aren’t too far away from mid-table obscurity, a status they’d far rather have than relegation candidates. Seven points clear of the relegation zone, they now approach a dangerous time in the campaign, as they have three games forthcoming that could easily see them go pointless.
A last minute equaliser from Diego Castro prevented Racing picking up three important points against Sporting de Gijon last weekend, leaving coach Miguel Angel Portugal to lament: “We’ve failed to kill this game off.”
Saturday’s encounter against Athletic starts a precarious run for the Cantabrian side. After completing this dangerous journey, Barcelona and Valencia will soon follow. Any points from these fixtures will be greedily accepted, and if Racing are not sucked into trouble again by the middle of March, they will be able to cruise through a relatively simple run-in.
TEAM NEWS
Athletic
Fernando Llorente failed to complete training on Thursday after receiving a blow to his face, though his place in the squad at the weekend is not compromised.
Fernando Amorebieta, Iban Perez and Jon Aurtenetxe are all sidelined, the latter two with long-term problems. Markel Susaeta and David Lopez return, but Mikel San Jose will miss out if an appeal on a yellow card picked up last weekend falls on deaf ears.
Racing
Oscar Serrano has suffered a relapse of the knee injury that kept him out for seven months and will miss the remainder of the season. Alexandros Tziolis is another long-term issue.
Kennedy Bakircioglu and Oscar Serrano are both doubts, while Gonzalo Colsa and Fabio Coltorti are hopeful of shaking off illness to feature in the squad.
Prediction
When Athletic Bilbao play at home, it’s rare to back against them, and this occasion should be no different. Los Leones are powerful customers playing at San Mames and Racing, who have been poor on their travels, will do well to secure a point.
Athletic Bilbao 2-0 Racing 
