Match Pack: Athletic Club vs Villarreal CF (LaLiga MD12)

LaLiga action returns to Bilbao. After two consecutive matches on the road, Athletic Club face Villarreal CF at The Cathedral on Sunday evening (18:30 CET). Los Leones are on the hunt for a much-needed win following two draws (against Sevilla FC and Getafe CF) and two defeats (against Atlético Madrid and FC Barcelona) in their last four fixtures.

Villarreal CF come into the fixture off the back of losing their coach. Earlier this week, Unai Emery stepped down in order to take over at Premier League outfit Aston Villa. The Yellow Submarine moved swiftly to replace the Basque manager, bringing in former Barça and Real Betis boss, Quique Setién.

There is no doubt it will be a tough evening for Ernesto Valverde's Lions. Villarreal are in good form, recently beating Almería in LaLiga and drawing against Hapoel Beer Sheva in the Europa Conference League. The visitors are seventh in the table, one place behind Athletic, but equal on points.

Match Info
Athletic Club vs Villarreal CF (Matchday 12)

San Mamés (Bilbao)

LaLiga Santander 22/23

Sunday October 30, 18:30 CET

How to Watch

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Team News

Ernesto Valverde has called these 23 players for the fixture. Iker Muniain and Dani García are out with injuries, while Ander Capa and Asier Villalibre are back in the squad after missing out last time.

Valverde's comments

The Gaffer admitted Los Leones were keen to get back to San Mamés after two consecutive matches away from home. Valverde also stressed how desperate his side are to "savour victory again" after four matches without a win.

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

The Opponents

Head coach: Quique Setien

With Unai Emery leaving to take over from Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa, Villarreal acted quickly to bring in a replacement, hiring Cantabrian coach Quique Setien.

As a player, Quique was a central midfielder, turning out for Racing Santander (in two separate spells), Atlético Madrid, CD Logroñes and Levante UD.

After retiring in 1996 at the age of 38, Setien became Racing Santander manager in 2001. He went on to have brief stints at Polideportivo Ejido, Equitorial Guines and CD Logroñes. However, it was not until he joined CD Lugo in 2009 that the football world took notice of Quique's coaching abilities.

He spent six seasons with the Galician club, taking them up to the Segunda División. Setien was then appointed Las Palmas head coach in 2015, where he won several plaudits for the team's attractive style of play. In 2017, he moved to Real Betis, leading the club to Europa League qualification in his first season in charge.

Setien's last managerial post was a six-month stint at FC Barcelona in 2020.

New signings:

In: Johan Mojica (left-back, from Elche CF), Kiko Femenía (right-back, from Watford FC), José Luis Morales (Forward, from Levante UD), Pepe Reina (goalkeeper, from SS Lazio) and Giovanni Lo Celso, who has extended his loan from Tottenham Hotspur for a further season.

Out: Pervis Estupiñan (left-back, to Brighton), Moi Gómez (winger, to CA Osasuna), Boulaye Dia (forward, loaned to US Salernitana), Paco Alcacer (forward, to Sharjah FC), Sergio Asenjo (goalkeeper, to Real Valladolid), Mario Gaspar (right-back, to Watford), Rubén Peña (right-back, to CA Osasuna), Vicente Iborra (midfielder, loaned to Levante UD).

Recent form: DLWLW

The Yellow Submarine currently sit in seventh place in the table, equal on points with Athletic but one place behind Los Leones. From 11 fixtures, Villarreal have won five, drawn three and lost three. They also have the second best defensive record in the top-flight, having only conceded seven goals so far this campaign.

Previous Meetings
The first ever LaLiga meetings between the two sides took place in the 1998/99 season, Athletic winning 0-1 at El Madrigal thanks to an Ismael Urzaiz strike. Los Leones and the Yellows have face each other a total of 44 times in the top-flight, with Athletic registering 12 wins, 15 draws and 17 defeats.

In terms of matches played at San Mamés, the record is in Athletic Club's favour. The Zurigorri have nine wins and seven draws and seven losses.

The visitors have only claimed all three points once from their last five visits to Bilbao. Villarreal's last victory at San Mamés came in 2018/19, while Los Leons have won two and drawn the other two.

Athletic emerged 2-1 victors in last season's edition of this fixture. Raúl García slid in to put Athletic 1-0 up after a great team move. Francis Coquelin equalised in the 32nd minute, but Iker Muniain stepped up to the plate to convert a second-half penalty and made sure Los Leones bagged all three points.