Date: 21st December 2014
Venue: San Mamés
Capacity: 53,332
Kickoff: 21:00 (CET)
Referee: José Teixeira
Match Preview:
It hasn’t been long before Atlético Madrid secured a position in the top 16 in Copa Del Ray, and now they are all packing their bags to travel to Athletic Bilbao for an interesting yet predictable match. Some have been saying that Atlético Madrid have been in bad form and that fact might be true but that doesn’t mean that Bilbao gets to lower their guard and take this encounter for granted.
Bilbao on the other hand have had quite a run, progressing up the table and taking 13 out of a possible 15 points this season. It also doesn’t help that Mandzukic and Koke will both be resting on the bench due to suspensions. Atlético have been a little stagnant in their attack and mediocre at best when it comes to their defense strategy.
Nevertheless, on the other side of the pitch stands Bilbao who have been plagued with their own kind of stagnancy. Their only hopes land on one man, Aritz Adruiz, who may seem to get a ball in the net as he has for the past few games. Even on this side two players will be riding the bench due to suspension; Aymeric Laporte and Ander Iturraspe. The game may seem to tilt a little in Atlético Madrid’s favor but it’s really hard to say who will take away the points tonight.
Predicted Lineups:
Atlético Madrid (4-4-2): Moya, Juanfran, Miranda, Siqueira, Rodriguez, Tiago, Gabi, Griezmann, Garcia, Jimenez.
Athletic Bilbao (4-2-3-1): Iraizoz, Balenziaga, Jose, Gurpegi, Marcos, Moran, Rico, Muniain, Viguera, Lopez, Adruiz.
My Prediction:
Atlético Madrid 2 – 1 Athletic Bilbao