Athletic Bilbao take on the visitors Girona in the round 25 match of Spanish LaLiga. The match will be played on Monday, February 19th at Estadio San Mamés (Bilbao).
Athletic are currently doing what was expected of it a year ago. As one of only three teams that have never been relegated from the top Spanish division, the Basques cannot help but be ambitious. However, due to their unique, archaic selection policy, it is difficult for them to achieve much. Yes, the previous coach, Marcelino, started with a victory in the Supercup - but that was it. As a result, a new surge of hope appeared when he was replaced by Valverde, especially since he had already worked, and quite successfully, in Bilbao. However, in the previous season, Ernesto twice stumbled against the mid-table team, Osasuna, both in the cup and in La Liga, so the final 8th place was hardly satisfying. Currently, Athletic have already replicated the result in the Copa del Rey, reaching the semifinals again. But this time, they managed to win in Madrid against Atletico thanks to Berenguer's penalty goal. By the way, they hope to push Atletico or even Barcelona out of the top 4 in La Liga. However, unexpectedly, in the last round, they failed to score against the main underdog, Almeria, ending in a 0-0 draw.
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Girona are only in its fourth season ever in La Liga - and the second in a row. Moreover, as experts have calculated, this version of the main squad cost less than 24 million, and Dovbik became the record purchase, arriving last summer for just over 7 million. As a result, Artem has already scored 14 goals - only surpassed by another offseason newcomer in La Liga, Bellingham. And his teammates have impressed everyone, including UEFA, leading Spanish football until February. However, it's becoming increasingly difficult to maintain such a pace. The first signs were the elimination from the cup after losing to Mallorca and a goalless draw with Almeria, undoubtedly the worst representative of the division. The 0-0 scoreline was repeated in February, against Real Sociedad. They also failed to score against Madrid and, moreover, lost to them 0-4. This defeat seems to put an end to talks of winning the championship. However, there are still chances to finish in the top 4, posing a serious threat to Champions League qualification. So, it's crucial to achieve a good result at San Mames against an opponent who is currently fifth and remains practically the last threat to finishing in the top 4.
Returning to La Liga, Girona won both games last season against the division stalwart. However, in the current season's fixture in Catalonia, it ended in a 1-1 draw. The Basques are considered the favorites in this match. But there will definitely be plenty of competition - we bet that the game will end with total under 3.0 goals.
Prediction for the match: Under 3.0 scored goals.
