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Spanish La Liga - Athletic Bilbao VS Leganes Prediction
Spanish La Liga - Athletic Bilbao VS Leganes
Match Time:27-01-2025 01:30 Monday (GMT+8)
Football Livescore | Match Prediction & Tips
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Athletic Club
The Basques recorded eight victories in ten matches across all competitions before the winter break, significantly improving their position in La Liga and securing a spot in the UEFA Europa League playoffs. Under Ernesto Valverde's management, the team displayed confident performances, even defeating one of the league leaders, Real Madrid, during their successful streak. However, the start of the new year has seen a decline in form for the Lions, which immediately reflected in their results.
At the beginning of the new calendar year, Athletic struggled to beat Logroñés in the Copa del Rey, winning only via penalties, and later exited the tournament following a home defeat to Osasuna (2:3). There will be a new holder for the trophy this season. In between cup matches, the Basques rightfully lost in the semifinals of the Spanish Supercup to Barcelona (0:2). Recently, they suffered a humiliating 1:4 defeat away to the weak Besiktas in Istanbul during the last match of the group stage of the Europa League. This defeat didn't significantly affect Athletic's tournament standings – they are still safely in the top eight, but now they cannot aim for the stage win. However, the disappointment lingers.
In terms of La Liga results, Athletic currently boasts an unbeaten streak of 11 matches, the best record in forty years, harking back to the club's golden era. Back in 1985, the club set a record for the longest unbeaten run – 16 matches. Ernesto Valverde’s team is well-positioned to match this, considering their remaining fixtures. After an illogical defeat against Girona, the Basques won seven of the next eleven league matches, propelling them not just into the top four but establishing a six-point cushion from their nearest rival. Moreover, thanks to a 2:1 victory over Celta last weekend, Athletic has now caught up with Barcelona in the standings.
Leganés
The Pepineros ended last year with three consecutive home defeats, each by a three-goal margin – 0:3 to Real Madrid and Real Sociedad, and 2:5 to Villarreal. However, before their loss to the Yellow Submarine, they achieved a historic away win against Barcelona (1:0). In the new calendar year, Borja Jiménez’s men are yet to taste defeat. In the Copa del Rey, the whites and blues overcame Cartagena (2:1) and Almería (3:2), and now face Real Madrid at home in the quarterfinals. In La Liga, Leganés drew with Espanyol (1:1) in the last match of the first half and shockingly defeated Atlético last weekend, stripping the Madrid side of their leadership in the league and ending their record winning streak.
The only goal in the match came early in the second half when center-back Matija Nastasić scored from a corner. This marked the Serbian’s second goal against Los Colchoneros (he has netted four in La Liga overall) with two different clubs, Mallorca and Leganés. Following that, Jiménez’s team held on to their slender lead through divine intervention, despite their opponents having complete domination. Diego Simeone's side missed the best chance to equalize in the 90th minute when Griezmann failed to convert a penalty, shooting wide of the goal. The MVP of the match justifiably went to Leganés’ goalkeeper Marko Dmitrović. Nevertheless, this victory did little to improve Leganés’ standing, as their relegation rivals – Alavés, Espanyol, and Valencia – also won their matches. Yet, one must agree, winning again against a giant, especially the current league leader at that time, is commendable.
Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Simon; Gorosabel, Vivian, Yeray, Boiro; Benat, Gomez, Jauregizar; I Williams, Berenguer, N Williams
Leganes possible starting lineup:
Dmitrovic; Rosier, Gonzalez, Nastasic, Saenz, J Hernandez; Raba, Neyou, Cisse, Cruz; De la Fuente
Prediction: Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Leganes
Athletic have the third-best home record in La Liga this season, while Leganes have only managed one away victory during the 2024-25 campaign. We are expecting a tricky Leganes outfit to make this a tough match for Athletic, but the Basque outfit should be able to navigate their way to another important three points.
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