Athletic Bilbao hopes to secure their fourth La Liga win of the season when they welcome Rayo Vallecano to San Mames on Saturday night with kickoff at 10 pm.
Athletic Bilbao finished eighth in Spain’s top flight last season and has shown signs of improvement this term, taking 10 points from five matches played.
They started their campaign with a goalless draw at home to Mallorca before securing back-to-back victories against Valencia and Cadiz. They then lost 1-0 at home to Espanyol on September 4 but returned to winning ways away to Elche last time out, recording a 4-1 victory.
Oihan Sancet, Nico Williams and Alex Berenguer scored for Athletic in the Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero win.
Rayo finished 12th in La Liga last season on their return to the top flight, and they’ve yet to concede a goal at home this campaign.
Los Franjirrojos started their season with a goalless draw at Barcelona before recording a 2-0 victory over Espanyol one week later to move onto four points from their opening two games.
Rayo then lost back-to-back games against Mallorca and Osasuna but returned to winning ways last time, beating Valencia 2-1 at home. This was with Isi Palazon’s early effort and an own goal from Nico Gonzalez helping the capital outfit overcome Gennaro Gattuso’s team.
Athletic Bilbao vs Rayo Vallecano Head to Head
Both sides have 16 games against each other, with hosts taking eight wins while visitors with four wins. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Elche CF 1-4 Athletic Club
- Athletic Club 0-1 Espanyol
- Cadiz CF 0-4 Athletic Club
- Athletic Club 1-0 Valencia
Away
- Rayo Vallecano 2-1 Valencia
- Osasuna 2-1 Rayo Vallecano
- Rayo Vallecano 0-2 RCD Mallorca
- Espanyol 0-2 Rayo Vallecano
Athletic Club Team News
Athletic Bilbao will again be without the services of Ander Herrera, Yuri Berchiche and Mikel Balenziaga for this match. There are no concerns about the starting XI from the clash with Elche, so it would not be a surprise to see the same group of players take to the field for the first whistle.
Rayo Vallecano Team News
Rayo, who could only field one natural left-back against Valencia, will again be without Salvi Sanchez and Diego Lopez when they travel to Athletic. Jose Mourinho has plenty of options for change, particularly in the final third of the field, with Radamel Falcao and Randy Nteka pushing for starting roles against Athletic.
Prediction and Odds
Athletic Bilbao is generally strong in front of their fans, and we expect them to put another three points on the board here.
- Home Win
- Both Teams to Score
- Goals Under 3.5