Match Pack: Athletic Club vs Villarreal CF (LaLiga MD31)
Match Pack: Athletic Club vs Villarreal CF (LaLiga MD31)
The Copa winners, entrenched in the fight for a Champions League place, welcome the Yellow Submarine to Bilbao
After finally winning the much-coveted 25th Copa del Rey, Athletic Club are back in LaLiga action as they host Villarreal CF at San Mames.
Los Leones now have their sights on Champions League qualification with fourth place just two points away. First, Athletic will have to face Marcelino's in-form team at the Cathedral.
Match Info
Athletic Club vs Villarreal CF
San Mames, Bilbao
LaLiga EA Sports 23/24 (Matchday 31)
Sunday April 6, 21:00 CEST
How to Watch
A global TV guide with worldwide kick-off times and LaLiga broadcasters
Team News
Valverde named a 24-man squad for the clash.
Valverde's Comments
Catch up with what he had to say at his press conference.
The Opponents
Head coach: Marcelino García Toral
The former Athletic Club head coach, Supercopa winner with Los Leones in 2020/21, will be making a first return to San Mames since departing at the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
Marcelino started his second spell at Villarreal in November this season, becoming the Yellows third permanent manager of the campaign. Their form has improved enormously since he took over, having picked up seven wins, five draws and five losses from his first 17 matches in charge.
Top goalscorer: Alexander Sorloth
A summer signing from RB Leipzig, who had loaned him to Real Sociedad for the past two seasons, the tall Norwegian striker has hit the ground running at La Ceramica.
Sorloth has 14 goals and five assists from his 26 LaLiga appearances so far this campaign.
Recent form: WWWL
A serious upturn in from since the end of January has seen the Yellow Submarine lose just once in their last 10 LaLiga fixtures, that defeat came in their most recent outing, against Atlético Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Previous Meetings
Our first top-flight match against Villarreal took place in 1998/99 with Athletic beating the Yellows 0-1 at El Madrigal. We've played each other 47 times in LaLiga, with Los Leones registering 14 wins, 15 draws and 18 defeats.
As for matches in Bilbao, from 23 meetings the Lions have won 10, tied seven and lost six.
From the Yellows' last five visits to San Mames, Athletic have three wins, one draw and one loss.
The Zurigorri defeated Villarreal CF 2-3 in this season's reverse fixture at the Estadio de la Cerámica. Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta, Iñaki Williams and Nico Williams had Los Leones 0-3 up within 30 minutes. The home side fought back, scoring a quick double late on, but Athletic held out to take all three points.