Athletic Bilbao vs Celta Vigo

The stakes couldn’t be higher for Athletic Bilbao and Celta Vigo as they lock horns at the Estadio San Mames in an exciting La Liga fixture.

Athletic Bilbao’s quest to return to European competition for the first time since 2017/18 suffered a massive setback last weekend. Villarreal thrashed Ernesto Valverde’s side 5-1, allowing seventh-placed Girona to move one point clear while extending Bilbao’s winless run in La Liga to four matches (D1, L3). A lack of firepower saw ‘Los Leones’ score a meager average of 0.5 goals per game during that four-match sequence, putting Valverde’s poor-performing frontline under pressure ahead of this fixture. Speaking of Bilbao’s scoring woes, they’ve lost their last two top-flight meetings with Celta ‘to nil,’ running the risk of three straight H2H scoring blanks for the first time in their top-flight history. There’s not much they can fall back on, considering they’ve only won once in their last six home league outings (D1, L4).

As for Celta Vigo, relegation fears could be at the forefront of their minds after last weekend’s 2-1 home loss to Valencia condemned them to a third consecutive league defeat. With four games left, the visitors sit five points clear of the drop zone, but unless they can turn the corner, that gap could soon melt down. Indeed, Carlos Carvalhal’s men are winless on their last four La Liga travels (D1, L3), including three successive losses in the lead-up to this trip. On a more positive note, following a 1-0 win in the reverse fixture at Balaidos, Celta could record their first league double over Bilbao since 1992/93. Conceding first could render those ambitions dead in the water, given that they’ve gone winless in all ten away league matches after falling behind this season (D2, L8).