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

Los Che's recent struggles have seen them drop into 17th position in the table, only one point outside of the relegation zone, while Athletic are currently eighth, two points behind sixth-placed Villarreal.

Match preview

Valencia recently relieved Gennaro Gattuso of his duties as head coach, with Voro placed in charge on an interim basis, but there has been no 'new manager bounce', with the team losing their two matches under the 59-year-old, who is actually in caretaker charge for the seventh time.

Indeed, Los Che were beaten 2-0 at Real Madrid on February 2 before going down 1-0 to Girona last weekend, and they currently sit in 17th position in the table, just one point outside of the relegation zone.

Valencia have only won five of their 20 league matches this season, and they have some very difficult matches to come, including clashes against Real Sociedad, Barcelona, Osasuna and Atletico Madrid before the end of March.

The six-time Spanish champions last played outside of La Liga in 1987, so it would be some story if they were relegated to the Segunda Division for the 2023-24 campaign.

Valencia have picked up 14 points from their 10 home league games this term, and their form at Mestalla is likely to be key when it comes to their battle to remain in the top division.

Athletic, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 4-1 victory over Cadiz on February 3, with Oihan Sancet scoring three times during an excellent performance at San Mames.

Ernesto Valverde's side had lost three league games in a row ahead of the clash with Cadiz but managed to return to winning ways in style and will now be looking to make it back-to-back successes in Spain's top flight for the first time since the end of September.

Athletic are currently eighth in the table, just two points behind sixth-placed Villarreal and six from Atletico in fourth position.

A Champions League spot is likely to be beyond the Basque outfit this term, but they will be confident of challenging for the top six, and it will be interesting to see how the team perform in their next two games against Valencia and Atletico, which are both away from home.

The Lions beat Valencia 3-1 at Mestalla in the Copa del Rey at the end of last month, while they have not lost to Los Che in Spain's top flight since September 2019.

Valencia La Liga form:

L

L

D

L

L

L

Valencia form (all competitions):

W

D

L

L

L

L

Athletic Bilbao La Liga form:

D

D

L

L

L

W

Athletic Bilbao form (all competitions):

L

W

L

W

L

W

Team News

Valencia will again be missing Gabriel Paulista on Saturday through suspension, while Justin Kluivert, Thierry Correia, Nico Gonzalez and Jaume Domenech are still out due to fitness problems.

Interm head coach Voro is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack for this match, but there could be a couple of changes from the side that started against Girona.

Indeed, Hugo Duro is pushing to be involved in the final third of the field and could replace Toni Lato, while there might be a spot in the middle of the defence for Mouctar Diakhaby.

As for Athletic, Inaki Williams remains a doubt due to a hamstring problem, while Inigo Martinez is still struggling to overcome a foot issue.

Martinez has not featured in Spain's top flight since the start of November, and he is again expected to be unavailable for selection in this match.

Yuri Berchiche is suspended following his red card against Cadiz, which should see Inigo Lekue come into the back four, but Raul Garcia should continue at centre-forward if Inaki Williams is indeed ruled out.

Valencia possible starting lineup:

Mamardashvili; Foulquier, Comert, Diakhaby, Gaya; Musah, Guillamon, Almeida; Lino, Cavani, Duro

Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:

Simon; De Marcos, Vivian, Yeray, Lekue; N Williams, Sancet, Vesga, Muniain, Berenguer; R Garcia

We say: Valencia 2-2 Athletic Bilbao

This has all of the makings of an open and entertaining match this weekend. Four of the last five La Liga matches between these two sides have finished level, including a 2-2 at Mestalla in December 2020, and we are backing the same scoreline to occur on Saturday night.

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