Athletic Club vs Granada Competition – Spanish Primera Liga Stadium: San Mamés Date: 19th April 2024 Kick-off time – 20:00 GMT
La Liga resumes this Friday as Granada travel to the Estadio San Mamés to play newly-crowned Copa del Rey champions Athletic Bilbao. Two weeks ago, the hosts won their first Copa del Rey title in 40 years when they beat Mallorca on penalties to secure the Spanish domestic cup trophy for the 24th time in their history. However, things have not been as rosy for Ernesto Valverde’s side in La Liga. They are winless in their last two league games (D1, L1) and failed to beat Villarreal in their last outing despite playing with a man advantage for over 45 minutes. However, despite their recent wobble, they still have a chance to finish inside the top four. They come into this tie sitting four points behind Atletico Madrid in fourth position and winning this tie will put them one point behind Diego Simeone’s side who play later. The major reason they remain in contention for a top-four finish is their home form with Bilbao losing just once at home at the Estadio San Mamés (W11, D4). Even more impressive is that they are unbeaten in their last 15 home games in all competitions. They are also good at home against Mallorca beating their visitors four times in their last six head-to-head meetings at home (D2). So, they will fancy their chances of getting maximum points here to keep their quest for the Champions League next season alive. Meanwhile, Granada will look to make it back-to-back wins in La Liga for the first time this season when they face Bilbao on Friday. The hosts won their third league game of the season and ended a run of eleven games without a win (D3, L11) when they beat Alaves 2-0 at the weekend. But despite the win, José Ramón Sandoval Huertas’s side remains rooted inside the relegation zone, with a nine-point gap behind Celta Vigo in 17th position. Their terrible away record which has seen them lose 13 out of their 15 away games (D2), is the major reason they look set for the drop. Also, their defence is shambolic with bottom-placed Almeria (62) the only team to concede more than Granada (60) this season. However, after keeping their first clean sheet since January at the weekend, there could be some measure of confidence going into this tie. Other fixtures taking place this week in the Spanish Primera Liga: Spanish Primera Liga Table
May 16, 2024
Las Palmas
18:30
Real Betis
Almeria
20:30
Barcelona
Real Sociedad
21:00
Valencia
May 18, 2024
Alaves
20:00
Getafe
May 19, 2024
Mallorca
18:00
Almeria
Villarreal
18:00
Real Madrid
Granada
18:00
Celta Vigo
Valencia
18:00
Girona
Cadiz
18:00
Las Palmas
Real Betis
18:00
Real Sociedad
Barcelona
18:00
Rayo Vallecano
Atlético de Madrid
18:00
Osasuna
Athletic Bilbao
18:00
Sevilla
#
Team
MP
W
D
L
F
A
G
P
1
Real Madrid
36
29
6
1
83
22
+61
93
2
Barcelona
35
23
7
5
72
43
+29
76
3
Girona
36
23
6
7
75
45
+30
75
4
Atlético de Madrid
36
23
4
9
67
39
+28
73
5
Athletic Bilbao
36
17
11
8
58
37
+21
62
6
Real Betis
35
14
13
8
46
41
+5
55
7
Real Sociedad
35
14
12
9
48
37
+11
54
8
Villarreal
36
14
9
13
60
60
+0
51
9
Valencia
35
13
9
13
37
39
-2
48
10
Getafe
36
10
13
13
41
51
-10
43
11
Alaves
36
11
9
16
34
45
-11
42
12
Sevilla
36
10
11
15
47
50
-3
41
13
Osasuna
36
11
8
17
40
54
-14
41
14
Rayo Vallecano
36
8
14
14
29
44
-15
38
15
Celta Vigo
36
9
10
17
42
54
-12
37
16
Las Palmas
35
10
7
18
30
44
-14
37
17
Mallorca
36
7
15
14
29
41
-12
36
18
Cadiz
36
6
14
16
25
49
-24
32
19
Granada
36
4
9
23
37
70
-33
21
20
Almeria
35
2
11
22
35
70
-35
17
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