Valverde: “This is the decisive phase”

Athletic Club head coach Ernesto Valverde said his Lions are now in the endgame, the part of the season where "every match you win means more".

With eight fixtures left, Los Rojiblancos are seventh in LaLiga Santander, just one point off sixth-placed Villarreal and three away from Real Betis in fifth.

San Mames hosts Sevilla FC on Thursday night, a team on the up since Jose Luis Mendilibar took the reigns last month.

"This is the decisive phase. When the season starts you always want to get to these matches like this, with the pressure of fighting for great things. That's a good thing and it should drive us on," Valverde said in his pre-match press conference.

"Tomorrow's game is very important. It's a match in which both teams will have their opportunities. Right now we're in good shape and we'll try to stay that way until the end."

Sevilla FC are in the process of rediscovering their best form. After a season full of inconsistency, the Andalusians have gone four LaLiga matches without tasting defeat, and knocked Manchester United out of the Europa League, since Mendilibar arrived in March.

Valverde said: "They're in their best form of the season, no doubt about it. Their situation was surreal and they've managed to climb away from the bottom of the table. They have some very good players and Mendilibar has brought them calmness and aggressiveness. We want to take three points against a good opponent and continue our good run."