Match Pack: Athletic Club vs Real Betis (LaLiga MD18)

For the second week in a row, the Lions take on a Sevilla-based side in Bilbao. This time San Mamés hosts Real Betis, who are off to their third best LaLiga start in history.

Athletic Club will be looking to beat LaLiga Santander’s third-placed side and put an end to the bad luck that has followed them over the last few fixtures. What’s more, club captain Iker Muniain will try to celebrate his 29th birthday in the best way possible, with a victory and three points.

Match Info
Real Betis Balompié (Matchday 18)

San Mamés (Bilbao)

LaLiga Santander 2021/22

Sunday December 19, 16:15 CET

Buy Tickets

The last few remaining tickets are still up for grabs and can be purchased via the official Athletic Club ticket channel.

How to Watch

Don’t miss a thing with our list of global kick-off times and LaLiga TV operators.

Team News

Athletic Club coach Marcelino García Toral has named 20 players in his squad for Sunday’s clash. Midfielder Dani García is serving a suspension as he picked up a fifth yellow card of the season in last week’s clash with Sevilla.

Defender Iñigo Martínez and goalkeeper Unai Simón are out of the squad after testing positive for COVID-19. For this reason, young keeper Julen Agirrezabala is brought back in to the senior side.

Dani Vivian, Yuri Berchiche -who was back to full training this week- and Asier Villalibre are still not fully ready for match action and will remain on the sidelines.

Marcelino’s Comments

The gaffer urged his side to be positive, stressing Athletic will keep the same mindset as always: go into every match to get all three points.

Catch more from Marcelino’s pre-match press conference.

The Opponents

League position: 3rd

Form over last five LaLiga matches: LWWWW

Last match: 4-0 vs Real Sociedad (H)

Head coach: Manuel Pellegrini

Known as ‘The Engineer’ due to his intelligence and the fact he has a civil engineering degree, the Chilean manager took over at Betis in July 2020. Last season, he led the Andalusians to sixth place in LaLiga Santander, securing Europa League qualification.

In a 30-year managerial career, Pellegrini has worked in Chile, Ecuador, Spain, China and England. In LaLiga, he has previously been in the dugout at Villarreal CF, Real Madrid and Málaga CF.

What’s more, Manuel is a one-club man, having spent his entire playing career at his hometown team, Universidad de Chile.

Star man: Nabil Fekir

The French attacking-midfielder joined Real Betis from Olympique Lyon in the summer of 2019. Now into his third season in LaLiga Santander, Fekir has become an integral part of this Betis team.

Both a creator and finisher, he has hit the back of the net 15 times in 80 LaLiga appearances. So far this season, he has three goals in 15 matches.

Previous Meetings
Real Betis have visited Bilbao 55 times to face Athletic in LaLiga. The historical head-to-head record at San Mamés hangs in Athletic’s favour, with 32 wins, 16 draws and seven losses for the Lions.

Athletic’s recent record against Real Betis is particularly strong. The Lions have not lost a LaLiga fixture against the Seville-based outfit at San Mamés since 2013/14. What’s more, Los Rojiblancos have not conceded against Betis at The Cathedral since the 2016/17 season.

Last year’s clash was particularly thrilling with Athletic putting four past the visitors in a comprehensive win. Opposition defender Victor Ruiz opened the scoring with an own goal, before Ander Capa, Iker Muniain and Alex Berenguer completed the rout.

Geuria!, San Mamés’ in-built sportsbar, is the perfect place to meet up before Athletic vs Betis. Located between Gates 13 and 15, the bar will be open from 14:45 CET onwards on Saturday afternoon. Come along and soak up the pre-match atmosphere at The Cathedral with fellow Athletic fans before kick-off.