Athletic Bilbao will be bidding to continue their strong start to the campaign when they welcome Atletico Madrid to San Mames on Saturday night.

The home side are currently third in the La Liga table, boasting 17 points from their opening eight matches, while Atletico occupy fourth, one point behind their opponents ahead of this contest.

Match preview

Athletic have not finished higher than seventh in La Liga since claiming fourth in 2013-14, but they have the look of a top-four side this term, picking up 17 points from their opening eight matches to sit third in the table.

The Lions boast a record of five wins, two draws and one defeat in La Liga this term, and they have picked up 10 points from their last four league games, beating Elche, Rayo Vallecano and Almeria, scoring 11 times in the process, in addition to playing out a 1-1 draw with Sevilla last weekend.

A win over Atletico would strengthen suggestions that the Basque outfit are capable of making a push for the Champions League spots, while they will also take on Barcelona on October 23, and it will be fascinating to see where Ernesto Valverde's side are in the table heading into the winter break.

Athletic are actually unbeaten in their last three league games with Atletico, winning the last two in front of their own supporters, including a 2-0 success in the corresponding game last term.

Inaki Williams and Nico Williams have scored six league goals between them for Valverde's team this season, while Oihan Sancet and Alex Berenguer have also come up with three each in Spain's top flight.

Atletico, meanwhile, will enter this contest off the back of a goalless draw with Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday night, which left them in third spot in Group B.

The result was enough for Brugge to secure their spot in the knockout round, but Diego Simeone's side are battling Porto and Bayer Leverkusen for the other qualification position, and it would be a big blow if they were unable to qualify for the last-16 stage of the European Cup.

In La Liga, Atletico have won five, drawn one and lost two of their eight matches to collect 16 points, which has left them in fourth position in the table.

The Red and Whites, who are six points behind leaders Barcelona, have won their last two in the league against Sevilla and Girona, responding impressively to their 2-1 home loss to Real Madrid.

Atletico have actually lost three of their last six games in all competitions, recording just two wins in the process, and there is pressure on them to pick up a positive result against a talented Athletic side.

Team News

Athletic were missing Dani Vivian and Yuri Berchiche through injury against Sevilla last time out, and the pair are again expected to miss out this weekend.

Ander Herrera is also suspended following his late red card against Sevilla, but there are no fresh issues, so it would not be a surprise to see the same XI that took to the field at Estadio Ramon.

Nico Williams, Iker Muniain and Berenguer should again support Inaki Williams, while Sancet and Dani Garcia are expected to line up in the middle of the park for the Basque outfit.

As for Atletico, Marcos Llorente and Felipe are on the sidelines through injury, but the Red and Whites did not pick up any fresh issues in their European clash with Brugge.

Alvaro Morata, Yannick Carrasco and Axel Witsel could all be reintroduced into the XI for this match, but Joao Felix is likely to remain on the bench for the visitors.

Simeone is set to continue with a 3-5-2 formation, and there could also be a start for Rodrigo de Paul, as the manager prepares to rotate his side following the midweek European game.

Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Simon; De Marcos, Yeray, I Martinez, Lekue; Sancet, D Garcia; N Williams, Muniain, Berenguer; I Williams

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Molina, Savic, Gimenez, Reinildo, Carrasco; Koke, Witsel, De Paul; Morata, Griezmann

We say: Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Atletico Madrid

Athletic will certainly be the fresher of the two sides on Saturday, and their form this season has been very impressive. Atletico are always difficult to back against due to their mentality, though, and we have a feeling that a tight match at San Mames will end in a low-scoring draw.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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