Match Pack: Villarreal CF vs Athletic Club (LaLiga MD34)

Athletic Club travel to the Estadio de la Ceramica, where they will take on fellow European hopefuls Villarreal CF. With two defeats and a draw in their last three matches, the Lions will be desperate to get back on track and finish the season on a high.

What's more, despite the recent rough patch, European qualification is still on the cards for Athletic. Girona FC currently sit in seventh place, while Los Rojiblancos are eighth but equal on points, only behind the Catalans due to their head-to-head goal difference. A positive result in Vila-real could see Ernesto Valverde's men retake that seventh position.

Match Info
Villarreal CF vs Athletic Club

Estadio de la Ceramica (Vila-real)

LaLiga Santander 22/23 (Matchday 34)

Saturday May 13, 18:30 CEST

How to Watch
Take a look at our global TV guide to make sure you don't miss the match, no matter where you are in the world.

Team News
Valverde has named a 22-man squad for the clash

Jon Morcillo, Iñigo Martínez and Unai Vencedor are in the treatment room, while Yeray Álvarez and Iker Muniain have recovered from their respective injuries and are back in the fold.

In addition, Dani Vivian misses out after picking up a red card in last week's fixture against Real Betis.

Valverde's Comments
The Gaffer urged his players to keep believing, reiterating the Lions are in a good place to achieve European qualification with five matches left.

The Opponents

Head coach: Quique Setién

The Santander-born tactician has been in charge at Villarreal since October this season, replacing Unai Emery, who went to English side Aston Villa. What's more, Villarreal have won 11, drawn three and lost eight since Setién took over - seven of those wins coming in their last 11 fixtures.

In his playing days, Quique turned out for Racing Santander, Atlético Madrid, CD Logroñes and Levante. He moved into management in 2001/02, his first job coming at Racing. However, it was not until his six-year stint with CD Lugo that Setién really began to turn heads as a coach.

From Lugo he moved to Las Palmas, where further plaudits earned him a move to Real Betis, after which he replaced Ernesto Valverde at FC Barcelona. Setién left Barça after six months in the job and took a two-year break from the game before returning to take the Villarreal position.

Top goalscorer: Nicolas Jackson

The Senegalese international is the Yellows' joint top goalscorer in LaLiga with José Luis Morales, who is out injured. Jackson joined Villarreal's Under-18s from Senegalese outfit Casa Sports in 2019. In 2020/21 he was loaned to CD Mirandés and last season split his time between Villarreal's first and second teams.

This season the striker has made the definitive step up to senior football, having made 21 appearances and scored seven goals in LaLiga Santander so far this season.

Recent form (LaLiga): LLWWD

The Yellows got off their campaign off to a strong start, only losing once in their first seven matches. They suffered a downturn in form around the beginning of February when they lost four matches on the bounce. However, they bounced back and have only been defeated twice since.

With the exception FC Barcelona, they have beaten every top-four team at least once this season. Their last outing was a 1-1 away draw with Valencia CF.

Previous Meetings
The first ever LaLiga clash between the two sides took place at the Estadio de la Ceramica back in 1998/99, Athletic winning 0-1 thanks to an Ismael Urzaiz goal. They have met 45 times in the top-flight, with the Lions recording 13 wins, 15 draws and 17 losses.

Vila-real is a tough away day for Athletic. Los Rojiblancos have won three, drawn eight and lost 11 times on their visits to the coastal town.

The sides' last five clashes at the Estadio de la Ceramica are quite indicative of the evenly-matched nature of these matches. The Lions have come away with four draws and one win in recent times.

 This season's return fixture in Bilbao saw Athletic run out 1-0 winner thanks to an Iñaki Williams strike in the 59th minute.