Match Pack: Athletic Club vs Atlético Madrid (LaLiga MD9)

Two LaLiga greats meet at San Mamés. Athletic Club and Atlético Madrid will lock horns for three points which could consolidate their place in the top four.

Los Leones are on a run of four games without defeat and come into this fixture off the back of earning a hard-fought point against Sevilla FC.

Ernesto Valverde's side are on the hunt for a third consecutive win at home, while a victory for the visitors, fresh from a 0-0 draw with Club Brugge in the Champions League, would see them move above Athletic in the table.
Match Info
Athletic Club vs Atlético Madrid (Matchday 9)

San Mamés (Bilbao)

LaLiga Santander 22/23

Saturday October 15, 21:00 CEST

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Team News

Ernesto Valverde has called up 23 players for the fixture. Dani Vivian has recovered from injury and returns to the fold.

Yuri Berchiche remains on the sidelines, while Ander Herrera is serving a one-match ban after receiving a red card against Sevilla last week.

Valverde's comments

Catch up with everything the Gaffer had to say at his press conference.

The Opponents

Head coach: Diego Simeone
The most successful manager in Atletico Madrid history, Argentinian Diego Simeone has been in charge at Los Colchoneros since December 2011. Since then he has gone on to win two LaLiga titles, one Copa del Rey, two Europa Leagues and two UEFA Super Cups as well as two Champions League runners-up medals.

A hard-tackling, no-nonsense midfielder in his playing days, Simeone made 163 appearances for Atletico during two spells (1994/95-1996/97 and 2003/04-2004/05), helping the side achieve the LaLiga and Copa del Rey double in 1995/96. In addition to that, he also won the UEFA Cup with Inter Milan in 1997/98 and the Serie A-Coppa Italiana double with SS Lazio in 1999/00. He lifted the Copa America on two occasions: 1991 and 1993. 

New signings:
There was a lot of movement at the Civitas Metropolitano this summer. The major names to have left the club are: Luis Suaréz, Renan Lodi, Daniel Wass, Hector Herrera, Sime Vrsaljko, Nehuén Pérez and Santiago Arias.

At the same time, many players have been brought in as reinforcements or have come back from loan spells away, such as: Nahuel Molina, Axel Witsel, Sergio Reguillon, Álvaro Morata and Saúl Ñíguez.

Recent form: WDWLW
Atlético have made a solid start to the season, with five wins, one draw and two losses from their first eight fixtures. They currently occupy fourth place in the table, one point behind Athletic. In their most recent LaLiga outing, Simeone's side beat Girona 2-1 at home, Argentinian forward Ángel Correa scoring both goals.

Previous Meetings
An all-time classic, the two sides' first ever LaLiga meeting was 2-3 away win for Athletic Club in the inaugural 1928/29 season. In total, Los Leones and Los Colchoneros have played each other a total of 170 times in the top-flight, with Athletic registering 63 wins, 31 draws and 76 defeats.

Athletic have a good record against Atlético when it comes to fixtures played at San Mamés, with 44 wins, 16 draws and 25 defeats.

Trips to The Cathedral have not brought much joy to the visitors in recent times. Out of the last five fixtures, Athletic have won three, drawn one and lost the other.

The Lions ran out 2-0 winners in last year's fixture. Mario Hermoso deflected an Iñaki Williams effort past Jan Oblak in the eighth minute and Athletic's no.9 sealed the deal with a cheeky chipped penalty in the second half.