Ten fixtures left to fight for a European place

With only 10 LaLiga Santander matches left this season, Athletic Club have the complicated task of reducing the seven-point gap that separates them from sixth place and European qualification.

Fifth-placed Betis are nine points ahead in fifth and occupy the Europa League berth, while Real Sociedad are sixth and seven points ahead in the Europa Conference League spot. What’s more, Villarreal have five more points than the Lions and sit in seventh place.

But nothing has been decided yet, and with 30 points up for grabs, 18 of which will be played for at San Mames, there is every reason to believe that Athletic can do it. The next two home games are vital, with the Lions taking on Getafe this Friday and Elche after the international break, and could see six points added to Athletic’s tally. San Mamés needs to be a fortress and a catalyst as we move into the final stages of the competition.

In April, we visit the Estadio de la Cerámica to face Villarreal -a direct rival for a place in Europe- take on Celta at San Mamés and play Cádiz away.

We kick off May with two home games in a row, against Atlético Madrid and Valencia. After than we head to Granada and host Osasuna before seeing out the 2021/22 season against Sevilla at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán.

These are in run-ins for Athletic and our main rivals in the race for Europe:

• Real Sociedad (47 points): Sevilla (A), Espanyol (H), Elche (A), Betis (H), Barcelona (H), Rayo Vallecano (A), Levante (H), Cádiz (H), Villarreal (A), Atlético de Madrid (H).
• Villarreal CF (45 points): Cádiz (A), Levante (A), Athletic (H), Getafe (A), Valencia (H), Alavés (A), Sevilla (H), Rayo Vallecano (A), Real Sociedad (H), Barcelona (A).
• Athletic Club (40 points): Getafe (H), Elche (H), Villarreal (A), Celta (H), Cadiz (A), Atlético Madrid (H), Valencia (H), Granada (A), Osasuna (H), Sevilla (A).