Athletic Bilbao will look to keep their European hopes alive when they welcome already-relegated Elche to San Mames on Sunday.

Elche may be cut adrift at the bottom of La Liga, but they head into the weekend off the back of an encouraging three-game unbeaten run.

Match preview

Athletic are aiming to return to European football for the first time since the 2017-18 Europa League, but their hopes of participating in UEFA competition have not been helped by a poor run of form.

Ernesto Valverde's side thought that they had turned a corner when they ended a four-game winless run with a 2-1 home victory over Celta Vigo last weekend, but they were quickly stopped in their tracks by Osasuna in midweek.

A 2-0 defeat at El Sadar resulted in Athletic being replaced in seventh position by Osasuna due to their better head-to-head record, which could prove decisive when the curtain comes down on the 2022-23 season.

With six teams still in the hunt for Europa Conference League qualification, there are likely to be more twists and turns in the final two matchdays, but Athletic can only focus on themselves as they prepare for a home meeting with Elche before they face Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on the final day of the season.

Los Leones have recorded two victories in their last two games against Elche - including a 4-1 victory in September's reverse fixture - and they have the chance to claim three consecutive top-flight wins over Sunday's opponents for the first since 1964.

In a season where they have had six different managers (including interim bosses) and picked up just four league wins, Elche have at least attempted to restore an element of pride in recent weeks.

Sebastian Beccacece's side have lost just one of their last five games, and since their relegation was confirmed with a 2-1 defeat to Almeria, they have gone on to pick up five points from three matches.

Their three-game unbeaten run began with their first La Liga victory over Atletico Madrid in 38 years, before they went on to play out 1-1 draws against Getafe and Sevilla.

After playing over 70 minutes with a one-man advantage over Sevilla in midweek, Elche may have been underwhelmed with a point, but the draw does give them the chance to go four La Liga games without defeat for the first time since February 2022.

With their 18 away games yielding just one victory (D4, L13), Elche know that they have their work cut out to claim all three points in their final away game of the season.

Team News

Athletic are still unable to call upon the services of Ander Herrera (hamstring), Dani Garcia (knee) and Jon Morcillo (collarbone).

Valverde has concerns over his central defensive options after Aitor Paredes and Dani Vivian both appeared to pick up injuries in the midweek defeat to Osasuna and as a result, the Athletic boss will be hoping that Yeray Alvarez and Inigo Martinez can recover from their respective fitness issues in time for Sunday's contest.

After dropping down to the bench on Thursday, goalkeeper Unai Simon and midfielder Oihan Sancet are expected to return to the lineup this weekend.

As for the visitors, Jose Angel Carmona is likely to miss out once again, while there are doubts over the availability of Diego Gonzalez, Omar Mascarell and Helibelton Palacios.

Beccacece could attempt to freshen up his side by recalling Lautaro Blanco and Lisandro Magallan to the starting XI.

Lucas Boye will retain his place in the Elche forward line, and the Argentine will be looking to add to the five goals that he has scored this season.

Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Simon; De Marcos, Yeray, Martinez, Berchiche; Sancet, Zarraga; N. Williams, Munain, Berenguer; I. Williams

Elche possible starting lineup:
Badia; Morente, Magallan, Bigas, Clerc, Blanco; Gumbau, Donald, Fidel; Nteka, Boye

We say: Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Elche

Elche would have taken confidence from their last three results, but we think that their unbeaten run will be brought to an end by Athletic, who have won their previous two matches against Sunday's opponents.

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