Athletic Club's Under-21 team left for London on Tuesday evening in advance of Wednesday's Premier League International Cup opener with Crystal Palace at the VBS Community Stadium in Sutton (Palace TV, kick-off at 20:00 CEST/19:00 BST).
The 18 players called up for the fixture trained together at Lezama on Tuesday morning.
Carlos Gurpegui's side, essentially a combination of Bilbao Athletic and Basconia, are drawn in Group C alongside seven other clubs, including four English teams (Liverpool, Everton, Fulham and Crystal Palace), and three other European outfits (Benfica, Feyenoord and AS Monaco). Athletic will only face English clubs at this stage.
With the date of the match against Liverpool still to be finalised, Athletic will play Everton on Wednesday 25 October and Fulham on 20 December.
The top two sides from the three groups will qualify for the quarter-final along with the two best third-placed teams. The tournament, which Athletic have participated in before, offers valuable experience for our academy players.
The Cubs fall to narrow defeat against Everton
Lezama
A Lewis Dobbin goal separated the two sides on a windy night at Walton Hall Park in Merseyside
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Athletic Club, best in Europe for using homegrown players
Club
A CIES report shows that no other side in Europe's top five league uses as many homegrown players as often as Athletic do
Squad for Premier International Cup match against Everton
Lezama
Carlos Gurpegui will take 17 players to Liverpool for the postponed fixture
AC Football Center presents 'Coaches' and 'Advisory'
Club
AC Football Center now offers intensive training courses for coaches from other professional outfits as well as a consultancy service for overseas clubs
Lezama, the seventh most prolific academy in Europe's top leagues
Lezama
With 24 academy players in Europe's top leagues, Athletic are only behind Real Madrid (44), FC Barcelona (40), Olympique Lyonnais (31), Valencia CF (29), Paris St. Germain (28) and Manchester United (26)
Everton FC vs Athletic Club U21 suspended
Lezama
Poor weather prevented the Athletic squad from travelling to Liverpool to play their second match of the Premier League International Cup. The match has been rescheduled for November 22
Squad list for Premier League International Cup (MD2)
Lezama
Athletic take a squad of 18 footballers to face Everton this Wednesday night
Unai Gómez medical report
Lezama
The midfielder is unavailable for the upcoming match against Real Sociedad
Athletic Under-21s draw against Crystal Palace
Lezama
Carlos Gurpegui's side drew 1-1 in London in the first of four matches against English teams in the Premier League International Cup