Athletic Bilbao vs Real Sociedad – 15/04/2023
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Basque rivals Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad will meet in La Liga on Saturday afternoon as both sides look to finish the season on a high note.
With 10 games remaining, Real Sociedad find themselves fourth – six points behind third-placed Atletico Madrid and four points inside the Champions League sports.
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¡Golazo!#EspanyolAthletic #AthleticClub ???? pic.twitter.com/wESVSaAbD4
— Athletic Club (@AthleticClub) April 11, 2023
As for Athletic Bilbao, they occupy seventh place in the table – five points outside the European places and 11 points shy of Real Sociedad.
Athletic Bilbao extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to four games with a 2-1 victory over Espanyol last time out.
Although Bilbao have registered two wins and two draws since their last defeat, the bigger picture does not look pretty for Ernesto Valverde’s side.
Indeed, Athletic Bilbao have only managed to win two of their last nine matches, with seven defeats coming in their previous 16 encounters.
Having won just one of their past six home games in La Liga, Bilbao could struggle to get the better of Champions League-chasing Real Sociedad.
That said, Sociedad have also endured an inconsistent period of late, recording two wins, three draws and two losses across their last seven league outings.
Despite recent 2-0 victories over Getafe and Elche, Real Sociedad will be wary of upwardly-mobile Villarreal closing the gap in fifth place.
When you look at the bigger picture, however, Sociedad have lost just three of their previous 16 La Liga clashes to remain in the hunt for UCL football.
RB Leipzig loanee Alexander Sorloth has netted 13 goals in all competitions this season, while Brais Mendez has bagged 10 goals and seven assists.
Head-to-head: Athletic Bilbao have managed to win just one of their last seven meetings with Real Sociedad across all competitions.
Given that five of the last eight meetings have dished up under 2.5 goals, a low-scoring encounter is on the cards this time around.
Team news: There are question marks over the fitness of Athletic Bilbao duo Inigo Lekue and Jon Morcillo, with both players a doubt for Saturday.
On the flip side, Real Sociedad look set to be without Sadiq Umar and Martin Merquelanz for the remainder of the season due to injury.
Given that both sides have struggled for consistency in recent weeks, Saturday’s clash is expected to be a close-fought battle.
Forebet predicts that Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad will play out a low-scoring draw, with both teams netting under 1.5 goals each.
