Sevilla vs Athletic Club Preview

Athletic Bilbao will travel to the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán this Thursday to face Sevilla in their first game of the year.

Sevilla ended 2023 on a low, winning just one of their last 12 league games (D6, L5). Their last game of the year was a 1-0 loss to Atletico Madrid, which kept them rooted in 15th position in the league table, just three points off the bottom three.

Having played their last two games away from home, they will now return to the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán looking to begin the new year on a high note. This match will not only be their first game at home this year, it will also be the first game for new manager Quique Sánchez Flores.

The Spanish coach is the fifth person to manage Sevilla in 2023 and he will hope to do better than his predecessors who could not improve their domestic form despite success in the Europa League.

Moreso, having overseen a win for Sevilla in his first game, he will be desperate to make his home debut with a win and extend Sevilla’s unbeaten run in this fixture to five games (W3, D2 since).

Meanwhile, Athletic Bilbao will look to make it three wins on the bounce when they travel to Seville on Thursday. The visitors ended 2023 on a high, winning their last two league games to extend their unbeaten run in La Liga to eight games.

They are the third-best team in the league over the last ten games and  currently sit in fifth position, three points behind Barcelona in fourth. So winning here will help them close the gap between them and the top four and also end their woeful form at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez.

Other fixtures taking place this week in the Spanish Primera Liga:

Spanish Primera Liga Table