Match Pack: Athletic Club vs Villarreal CF (LaLiga MD10)
Match Pack: Athletic Club vs Villarreal CF (LaLiga MD10)
Get the lowdown ahead of Saturday’s big match, as The Cathedral goes back to maximum capacity
An exciting night awaits in Bilbao. For the first time since March 1, 2020 -601 days ago to be exact- San Mamés can finally host a maximum capacity attendance. Curiously, Saturday’s visitors Villarreal CF were also our opponents the last time a match was held at The Cathedral without capacity restrictions.
Due to the postponement of the Matchday 9 fixture, Athletic have gone three weeks without playing. However, Marcelino’s side are raring to go and want to mark the special occasion with three points.
They’ll face stiff opposition in the form of Villarreal CF. Unai Emery led the side to Europa League glory last term and they are part of a group of teams chasing European qualification this season.
Match info
Athletic Club vs Villarreal CF (Matchday 10)
San Mamés (Bilbao)
LaLiga Santander 2021-22
Saturday October 23, 21:00 CEST
How to watch
Use our tailor-made list of TV channels and global LaLiga broadcast partners to make sure you don’t miss the match.
Team news
Athletic Club head coach Marcelino has named a 22-man squad for Saturday night’s match. Centre-back Unai Nuñez is back in training but remains sidelined after injuring his right ankle. However, striker Asier Villalibre returns to the squad after missing the last two matches with a thigh issue.
Marcelino’s comments
Marcelino was adamant that Athletic’s extended international break would not see a drop in tempo at San Mamés on Saturday night. The Gaffer also highlighted the motivating factor of being able to play in front of a maximum capacity San Mamés again.
Catch up on everything our head coach had to say during his pre-match press conference.
The opponents
League position: 12th
With five draws so far, only Levante match the Yellow Submarine in terms of one pointers in LaLiga 2021-22. What’s more, in terms of goals against only Sevilla (3) and Athletic Club (4) have conceded less than Villarreal (5) at this point.
Their form over the last five LaLiga matches: DWDWL
Head coach: Unai Emery
The Basque-born coach took over at Villarreal in the summer of 2020. Last season he led the side to their first ever major trophy after they defeated Man Utd on penalties in the Europa League final. Unai started his managerial career at Lorca Deportiva in 2006, he’s also been the man in the dugout at UD Almería, Valencia CF, Spartak Moscow, Sevilla FC, PSG and Arsenal.
Furthermore, with four Europa League trophies to his name, Emery holds the distinction of being the manager who has won the competition most times.
Star man: Gerard Moreno
Moreno has spent the majority of his entire professional career with the Yellow Submarine -a loan spell at Mallorca and three years at Espanyol his only time away from the club. The striker has scored a total of 57 goals in 133 LaLiga appearances in the all-yellow kit.
Last season was his best to date, with the left-footed forward banging in 23 goals (10 penalties) in 33 matches.
Last match: 1-2 loss to CA Osasuna
Previous meetings
A relatively young fixture in LaLiga, the first time Villarreal visited Bilbao for a Primera División clash was in 1998-99, with Athletic winning 2-0 thanks to goals by Julen Guerrero and Sanitago Ezquerro.
Typically an evenly-matched affair at the Cathedral, Athletic’s current record against Villarreal at home in LaLiga stands at eight wins, seven draws and six losses.
Last season’s meeting threw up a 1-1 draw. Moreno opened the scoring for the visitors, but Alex Berenguer equalised for the Lions with a poacher’s goal in the box.
In 2019-20, the last match before the pandemic and The Cathedral was closed off to spectators, Athletic picked up a 1-0 win. Striker Raúl García converted from the spot after the ball struck Pau Torres’ arm in the box.