Buoyed from sealing their place in the Europa League quarter-finals, Athletic Bilbao will be looking for another positive result when they travel to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan for Sunday’s La Liga contest.
Los Leones are currently sitting in fourth place in the league table, while the hosts will start the weekend in 10th position.
Match preview
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Sevilla have made themselves a tough team to beat in recent times, having lost just one of their previous nine La Liga matches (W3, D5).
Their only defeat in that period took place on February 9 when they fell to a heavy 4-1 defeat against title hopefuls Barcelona.
The Andalusian club have shown great character since that defeat, easing to a 4-0 win over Rayo Vallecano, before following back-to-back draws with a narrow win in last Sunday’s away clash against Real Sociedad.
Chidera Ejuke‘s second La Liga goal of the season proved enough to guide Sevilla to a 1-0 victory at Reale Arena, representing their first away win over Real Sociedad since April 2021.
Not only did the result extend Sevilla’s unbeaten away run to five matches, but it also moved them above Real Sociedad and into 10th place in La Liga, leaving them five points adrift of the top six with 11 games left to play.
They are now looking to win back-to-back league games for the first time under Garcia Pimienta, but that may be easier said than done, given the fact they have failed to win any of their last four matches at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan since beating Celta Vigo on December 14.
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Athletic will travel to Andalusia in high spirits after they sealed their place in place in the Europa League quarter-finals with a successful outing in Thursday’s last-16 clash against Roma.
Trailing 2-1 from the away leg, Los Leones were given a significant boost when Roma’s Mats Hummels was shown a straight card in the 11th minute of Thursday’s home outing, and they ultimately made full use of the numerical advantage, with Nico Williams netting a brace alongside a Yuri Berchiche header to seal a 3-1 victory.
The win kept Athletic’s hopes alive of going all the way to the Europa League final which will be played at their home ground of San Mames.
Scottish side Rangers await in the quarter-final stage, but first, Athletic will turn their focus back to securing Champions League qualification for next season, with Los Leones sitting in fourth place in La Liga after collecting 49 points from 27 matches.
Ernesto Valverde‘s side have failed to win their last two league outings, losing 1-0 away to Atletico Madrid before playing out a 1-1 home draw with Mallorca last weekend.
They have also gone three away La Liga matches without a win (D2, L1), although they may take confidence from the fact they enjoyed success on their most recent visit to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in January 2024 when they recorded a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Mikel Vesga and Aitor Paredes.
Team News
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Sevilla defender Tanguy Nianzou remains sidelined with a thigh injury which has kept him out of action since November.
In positive news, Nemanja Gudelj and Akor Adams are closing in on a return to action, with the pair hoping to prove their fitness in time for Sunday’s contest.
Garcia Pimienta could for consistency by selecting the same team that started last Sunday’s successful away outing against Real Sociedad.
Arsenal loanee Albert Sambi Lokonga will continue to provide an option off the bench after returning from a four-game injury absence to make a substitute appearance at the Reale Arena.
As for the visitors, they are expected to be without defender Dani Vivian and attacker Oihan Sancet due to muscle injuries.
Goalkeeper Unai Simon will replace Julen Agirrezabala between the posts, while centre-back Yeray Alvarez will come into the backline after serving a one-match ban in Thursday’s Europa League win over Roma.
Valverde could make several other changes in a bid to freshen up his side, with Andoni Gorosabel, Benat Prados, Alex Berenguer and Gorka Guruzeta all pushing for starting spots.
Nico Williams will be looking to continue his fine run of form after scoring five goals across Athletic’s last five competitive matches.
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Nyland; Carmona, Bade, Salas, Pedrosa; Sow, Agoume, Saul; Lukebakio, Ejuke, Romero
Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Simon; Gorosabel, Yeray, Paredes, Berchiche; Ruiz de Galarreta, Prados; I. Williams, Berenguer, N. Williams; Guruzeta
We say: Sevilla 1-1 Athletic Bilbao
Athletic will be looking to claim their away league win in January, but after drawing two of their previous three La Liga road trips, we think they could play out another draw on Sunday, especially as Sevilla have seen three of their last four home matches finish all square.
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