Atlético Madrid meets Athletic Club in their Matchday 4 encounter of La Liga on Saturday at the Estadio de San Mamés.
Diego Simeone’s men will look to continue their unbeaten start to the season and add another three points to their tally.
- Date: Saturday, 5th September.
- Kick-off: 3:15pm BST.
- Venue: Estadio de San Mamés, Bilbao.
Athletic Club team news
Athletic Club faces significant selection headaches ahead of this clash, heavily impacting their defensive stability and midfield depth.
Manager Edin Terzić will definitely be without Unai Egiluz, who remains sidelined long-term with an ACL injury.
Midfielder Peio Canales is also ruled out with a muscle injury and isn’t expected back until late September.
Further complicating matters, key defenders Dani Vivian and Beñat Prados are major doubts after picking up groin and thigh issues, respectively.
On a more positive note, star winger Nico Williams is fit enough to make the matchday squad. However, because he is still building back his match sharpness, he is expected to start on the bench rather than in the opening lineup.
Atletico Madrid team news
Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid squad travels to Bilbao in relatively good health, boosted by the resolution of a major summer transfer saga.
Star forward Julián Álvarez is officially back in the travelling squad; despite missing recent training sessions due to an illness and heavy transfer speculation linking him to Barcelona, the Argentine trained fully this week.
The visitors will, however, be without striker Alexander Sørloth, who continues to recover from a mid-August muscle injury, alongside midfielder Obed Vargas.
On the bright side, late-window loan signing Jonathan David has been included in the squad and could make his debut.
Additionally, robust centre-back Robin Le Normand is set to return straight to the starting defensive unit after serving his suspension.
Form
Athletic Club
Athletic Club has endured a challenging and inconsistent opening to their La Liga campaign under new manager Edin Terzić. Los Leones sit in 13th place, having managed just one victory alongside two defeats from their first three league matches. After sufferring consecutive losses against FC Barcelona (2-0) and Sevilla FC (3-1), they finally bounced back in their most recent outing, securing a vital 2-0 away win against RC Celta de Vigo.
Atletico Madrid
Atlético Madrid enters the clash in excellent form, sitting comfortably in fourth place after going unbeaten through their opening three fixtures. Diego Simeone’s revamped side has accumulated seven points, netting seven goals while conceding just three. Their domestic campaign kicked off with a 2-0 win over Málaga CF and a 2-2 draw with Villarreal CF, capped off by an impressive 3-1 away victory against Sevilla FC in their latest match.
Predicted lineups
Athletic Club: Simon; Areso, Paredes, Laporte, Berchiche; Ruiz de Galarreta, Gerenabarrena; Navarro, Sancet, Berenguer; I Williams
Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Llorente, Hancko, Pubill, Grimaldo; Barrios, Hjulmand; Simeone, Kang-in, Lookman; Baena
How to watch Athletic Club vs Atletico Madrid?
You can watch the Athletic Club vs. Atlético Madrid match live in the UK on LALIGATV.
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