Athletic Bilbao vs Real Valladolid Match Preview
The Estadio San Mames will be the venue for Athletic Bilbao’s La Liga clash against Real Valladolid. The match will kick off at 18:00 GMT.
Athletic Bilbao are 7th in the league and their hunt for European qualification is very much realistic. They possess 37 points behind 6th placed Deportivo who count 38 points.
After managing a goalless draw away to Sevilla last week, opportunities are wider opened for Bilbao to grab a 4th place finish come the end of the season.
Analyzing his side’s chance of qualifying for Europe and praising his players, Coach Joaquin Caparros assessed:
“We are six points behind a team [Sevilla] that participate in the Champions League.
"That [the 0-0 draw] is a fair assessment of our players in what is a very close league race.”
Having already beaten Real Madrid and Villarreal earlier in the season, Athletico Bilbao should affront bottom side Real Valladolid full of confidence.
However, Bilbao better not dare to allow complacency. Valladolid seat at the 18th position in La Liga standings and they have 20 points like Tenerife.
The battle for survival is already on and Real Valladolid need to catch more points to pull out from the relegation zone.
A win at the San Mames will do them a lot of good as they look forward to closing the four-point gap that exists between them and 17th placed Real Zaragoza.
