Preview: Almeria vs. Athletic Bilbao - prediction, team news, lineups

The visitors are currently fifth in the table, boasting 45 points from their 23 La Liga matches this season, while Almeria are rock bottom of the division, some 14 points from safety.

Match preview

Almeria need a minor miracle to avoid the drop this season, with a very difficult campaign seeing La Union pick up just six points from their 23 matches to sit 20th, and they are still waiting for their first league win of the campaign.

UDA are 14 points behind 17th-placed Mallorca, while they have comfortably the worst defensive record in the league this season, conceding 51 times.

The Andalusian outfit, who finished 17th in La Liga last season, will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 defeat at Valencia, which proved to be their third straight loss in Spain's top flight.

Gaizka Garitano's side have the worst home record in the league this term, picking up just five points from 11 matches, and they will be hosting an Athletic side with the fifth-best record on their travels.

Almeria have also lost each of their last five La Liga matches with Athletic, including a 3-0 defeat when the two teams locked horns for the reverse fixture earlier this season.

Athletic, meanwhile, will enter the match off the back of a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on Wednesday night.

Alex Berenguer netted the only goal of the contest to put Ernesto Valverde's side in a strong position to finish the job in front of their own supporters later this month.

Athletic have also impressed in La Liga this season, boasting a record of 13 wins, six draws and four defeats from 23 matches, which has left them in fifth spot in the table, three points behind fourth-placed Atletico.

The Lions have not finished fourth in Spain's top flight since the 2013-14 campaign, but they are firmly in the mix for a Champions League spot at this stage, and it would go down as a very successful season if the Basque outfit were able to claim a top-four position and win the Copa del Rey.

The Red and Whites were 4-0 winners over Mallorca in La Liga last weekend, and they have the second-best defensive record on their travels this season behind Real Madrid, which is a further indication of the size of the task facing Almeria on Monday night.

Almeria La Liga form:

L

L

D

L

L

L

Athletic Bilbao La Liga form:

W

W

W

L

D

W

Athletic Bilbao form (all competitions):

W

L

W

D

W

W

Team News

Almeria will be without the services of Luis Suarez and Arnau Puigmal on Monday through injury, while Cesar Montes, Ibrahima Kone and Aleksandar Radovanovic are major doubts.

The basement side will also have to work around the absence of Leo Baptistao, who was sent off in the latter stages of the 2-1 defeat at Valencia last time out.

Iddrisu Baba is expected to benefit if Montes is unavailable, while Baptistao's absence in the final third of the field will open the door for Anthony Lozano to start following his recent arrival from Getafe on loan.

Athletic are sweating over the fitness of Nico Williams, who did not feature against Atletico in the Copa del Rey due to a thigh problem, and he is a major doubt for this contest.

Inigo Lekue and Berenguer are definitely out through injury, but Inaki Williams is fit despite a recent foot issue, and he is expected to be named in the starting XI.

Should Nico Williams fail to recover in time, there is likely to be a start for Iker Muniain in a wide area, with the experienced attacker coming off the bench to score against Mallorca in the league last weekend.

Almeria possible starting lineup:

Maximiano; Pubill, Baba, Chumi, Centelles; Lopy, E Gonzalez; Arribas, Melero, Ramazani; Lozano

Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:

Simon; De Marcos, Yeray, Paredes, Yuri; Ruiz de Gallareta, Benat; I Williams, Sancet, Muniain; Guruzeta

We say: Almeria 0-2 Athletic Bilbao

Almeria can take positives from their performance against Valencia last time out, but it was another defeat, and they are now welcoming a very strong Athletic side. Shocks can happen at this stage of the campaign, but we are finding it tough to see anything other than a routine victory for the visitors on Monday night.

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