Athletic Bilbao will be looking to make it three straight wins in all competitions when they continue their La Liga campaign away to Alaves on Sunday evening.
The visitors are currently 10th in the table, boasting 27 points from their opening 20 matches of the 2021-22 season, while struggling Alaves sit 18th, level on points with 17th-placed Elche.
Match preview
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Alaves have been present in Spain's top flight since 2016, finishing ninth, 14th, 11th, 16th and 16th in their last five campaigns, but it appears that they are firmly in a relegation fight this season.
Indeed, the Basque outfit have only picked up 16 points from their opening 19 matches of the season, which has left them in 18th spot in the table, level on points with 17th-placed Elche.
Alaves will still believe that they have enough quality to move clear of the relegation zone, but they are worryingly without a victory in their last seven league matches, suffering four defeats in the process.
Jose Luis Mendilibar's side suffered back-to-back defeats to Rayo Vallecano and Villarreal before the winter break but managed to pick up a point at home to Real Sociedad in their last match on January 2.
El Glorioso have also been victorious in their last two home La Liga games against Athletic, including a 1-0 success in the corresponding fixture during the 2020-21 campaign.
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Athletic, meanwhile, will enter Sunday's contest off the back of a 2-0 victory over Mancha Real in the Copa del Rey on Thursday, which saw them progress to the last-16 stage of the competition.
The Basque side were also victorious in the league last weekend, overcoming Osasuna 3-1, with Oihan Sancet scoring three times at Estadio El Sadar in a brilliant performance.
A record of six wins, nine draws and five defeats from 20 matches has seen Athletic collect 27 points, which has left them in 10th position in the table, three points behind sixth-placed Rayo Vallecano.
Marcelino's side, who have won three of their last four matches in all competitions, finished 10th in Spain's top flight last season but are certainly capable of pushing towards the European spots this term.
The Lions are due to face Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup next week before resuming their La Liga campaign away to high-flying Rayo Vallecano on January 23.
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Team News
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Alaves will again be without the services of Ximo Navarro due to a knee injury, while Pere Pons is also a slight doubt, but the home side are otherwise in good shape when it comes to availability.
Tomas Pina and Fernando Pacheco should return, having recently been absent through coronavirus, with the pair pushing to be a part of the starting XI on Sunday.
Joselu was on the scoresheet against Real Sociedad last weekend and will again lead the line, while Toni Moya and Luis Rioja should also keep their spots in the starting side.
As for Athletic, Yuri Berchiche remains on the sidelines through injury, while Asier Villalibre and Ander Capa are doubts for the visitors here.
Sancet scored three times against Osasuna last time out in the league and will again feature in the final third of the field alongside Inaki Williams.
Nico Williams is also in contention, having scored twice against Mancha Real in the Copa del Rey on Thursday, but Alex Berenguer and Iker Muniain are likely to be given the nod in the wide areas for Athletic.
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Pacheco; Aguirregabiria, Laguardia, Lejeune, Duarte; Moya, Pina; Mendez, Pons, Rioja; Joselu
Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Simon; De Marcos, Alvarez, Martinez, Balenziaga; Berenguer, Vencedor, D Garcia, Muniain; Sancet, I Williams
We say: Alaves 1-2 Athletic Bilbao
Athletic's recent form has been impressive, and they beat Alaves 1-0 in the reverse match at San Mames earlier this season. We are expecting this to be a tight fixture, as Athletic have only won twice on their travels in the league this season, but the visitors should have enough quality to secure all three points.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Athletic Bilbao win with a probability of 48.28%. A draw had a probability of 27.7% and a win for Alaves had a probability of 24.06%.
The most likely scoreline for an Athletic Bilbao win was 0-1 with a probability of 14.47%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (9.91%) and 1-2 (8.7%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.7%), while for an Alaves win it was 1-0 (9.29%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 10.6% likelihood.
