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

The visitors will enter the contest off the back of a 2-0 win over Mallorca, while Athletic suffered a 1-0 defeat to Celta Vigo on Sunday, which made it three straight La Liga losses for the Basque outfit.

Match preview

Athletic beat Valencia on January 26 to secure their spot in the Copa del Rey semi-finals, with the Basque outfit set to take on Osasuna in the first leg of their last-four clash on March 1, but there is no getting away from the fact that the team are currently struggling in La Liga.

Indeed, Ernesto Valverde's side have only won once in Spain's top flight since the end of October, while they have picked up just two points from their last five league fixtures.

Athletic drew against Real Betis and Osasuna on December 29 and January 9 respectively before suffering three straight league defeats to Real Sociedad, Real Madrid and Celta.

Iago Aspas netted the only goal of the contest in Sunday's clash in Vigo, and the result has left the Lions in ninth position in the table, boasting 26 points from their opening 19 matches.

Valverde's side are only five points off sixth-placed Real Betis, though, and they have won their last two league fixtures against Cadiz, including a 4-0 success in the reverse contest earlier this season.

Cadiz, meanwhile, boosted their survival hopes with a 2-0 victory over Mallorca on Saturday; Theo Bongonda made the breakthrough in the 10th minute before Alex Fernandez registered just before the half-time break.

The result moved the Yellow Submarine onto 19 points, which has left them in 18th position, just one point behind 17th-placed Real Valladolid on the same number of matches (19).

There are incredibly only three points separating Cadiz from Almeria in 11th, with only Elche at the bottom currently cut adrift from the rest of the league in terms of the fight for relegation.

Cadiz have now lost just one of their last five in Spain's top flight, and they have managed to pick up points in four of their nine away La Liga games during the 2022-23 campaign.

Sergio Gonzalez's side are bidding to secure a third straight season at this level of football, and the recent signs have been positive.

Cadiz's last La Liga win over Athletic was a 1-0 success in November 2021, with the Basque outfit triumphing in three of their last four meetings at this level of football.

Athletic Bilbao La Liga form:

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D

D

L

L

L

Athletic Bilbao form (all competitions):

D

L

W

L

W

L

Cadiz La Liga form:

L

D

W

D

L

W

Cadiz form (all competitions):

W

D

W

D

L

W

Team News

Inaki Williams's run of 251 successive La Liga matches came to an end last weekend, as the forward missed Athletic's clash with Celta due to a hamstring problem.

The Ghana international is therefore a major doubt for this contest, while Inigo Martinez could again miss out with a muscular issue that is proving difficult to overcome.

Head coach Valverde will make changes from the side that started the loss to Celta, with Oihan Sancet, Mikel Vesga and Oscar de Marcos set to be among the players to come into the starting XI.

Cadiz, meanwhile, will be boosted by the returns of Ivan Alejo and Ruben Sobrino following suspensions, but the visitors still have a number of players on the sidelines due to fitness issues.

Jose Mari, David Gil, Cala, Victor Chust, Jon Ander Garrido and Joseba Zaldua will again miss out through injury for the relegation-threatened visitors.

Sobrino is expected to return to the side in the final third of the field, but the bulk of the side that started against Mallorca should be rewarded for what was an impressive performance and result.

Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:

Simon; De Marcos, Yeray, Vivian, Yuri; Vesga, D Garcia; N Williams, Sancet, Berenguer; Guruzeta

Cadiz possible starting lineup:

Ledesma; Carcelen, Hernandez, Mbaye, Espino; Bongonda, Alcaraz, Alex, Ocampo; Lozano, Sobrino

We say: Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Cadiz

On paper, Athletic are the favourites in this match, but it is difficult to ignore their recent struggles when picking a result here. Cadiz have drawn two of their last five league matches, and we believe that the visitors will have enough resilience to avoid defeat at San Mames on Friday night.

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