One of the standout fixtures in the third gameweek of the 2023-24 La Liga season will take place at San Mames on Sunday evening, with Athletic Bilbao welcoming Real Betis.
The home side are currently 11th in the table, boasting three points from their opening two matches, while Real Betis sit seventh, having gained four points from their first two games this term.
Match preview
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Athletic suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Real Madrid on the opening weekend of the new La Liga season, but they managed to bounce back in impressive fashion by beating Osasuna 2-0 on their travels.
Inaki Williams sent the Lions ahead in the 11th minute of Saturday's affair in Pamplona before Gorka Guruzeta doubled the Basque outfit's advantage, and there was not a response from the home side.
Ernesto Valverde's side finished eighth in La Liga last season and will again be looking to push for a European position despite only managing to bring in two new players this summer in the shape of Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta and Javier Marton due to their Basque-only rule.
Inigo Martinez has been their biggest departure this summer, with the 32-year-old leaving on a free transfer to join Barcelona, while Ander Capa, Oier Zarraga and Mikel Balenziaga are also among those to have moved on.
Athletic are winless in their last four league games against Real Betis and suffered a 1-0 defeat when the two sides locked horns in the corresponding match last season.
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Real Betis, meanwhile, started their La Liga campaign with a 2-1 victory over Villarreal on August 13 before picking up a point in a goalless draw with Atletico Madrid last weekend.
A total of four points has left Manuel Pellegrini's side in seventh spot in the table, while they finished sixth last season, securing a position in the group stage of the Europa League in the process.
Real Betis will expect to be one of the teams challenging to join Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico in the top four, and they have managed to bring in a number of new players this summer, although only one of those - Sergi Altimira - has arrived for a transfer fee.
The Green and Whites were impressive on their travels last season, picking up 28 points from 19 away matches, and they are heading to an Athletic side that lost eight times at home during the 2022-23 campaign.
Real Betis have only lost one of their last five La Liga matches against Athletic, meanwhile, and these are the type of games that they need to win in order to be serious challengers for the Champions League spots.
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Team News
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Athletic have a fairly lengthy injury list at this moment in time, with Oscar de Marcos, Peru Nolaskoain, Dani Garcia, Yeray Alvarez and Yuri Berchiche all on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, Oihan Sancet will also be unavailable for selection this weekend due to the red card that he was handed in the second half of the win over Osasuna last time out.
Inigo Lekue is set to replace the injured De Marcos at right-back, while Imanol Garcia de Albeniz should keep his spot on the opposite side; Sancet's ban could also open the door for Ander Herrera to come into the XI.
As for Real Betis, Luiz Henrique, Claudio Bravo, William Carvalho and Nabil Fekir are all unavailable once again.
The visitors have no fresh issues, though, meaning that it could be the same XI that took to the field for the first whistle against Atletico last time out.
Willian Jose may therefore have to accept a spot on the bench, with Borja Iglesias set to lead the line with support from Isco in the number 10 position.
Marc Roca is benefitting from Carvalho's absence and should again start in central midfield, while Luiz Felipe is also expected to play despite the recent speculation surrounding his future at the club.
Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Simon; Lekue, Vivian, Paredes, Garcia de Albeniz; Vesga, Ruiz de Galarreta; I Williams, Herrera, N Williams; Guruzeta
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Silva; Sabaly, Pezzella, Felipe, Abner; Rodriguez, Roca; Ruibal, Isco, Perez; Iglesias
We say: Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Real Betis
Athletic will be missing some important players this weekend, but the same can also be said for Real Betis. We were close to backing an away win, and it would not be a surprise to see the visitors triumph here, but Athletic are good enough to claim a share of the spoils in front of their own supporters.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
