Athletic Club vs Atletico Madrid Preview

Atlético Madrid will travel to the Estadio San Mamés this Thursday to take on Athletic Bilbao in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi final tie.

Bilbao reached the final of this tournament in the 2020/21 season but failed to win it but they could go to the final again having won 1-0 in the first leg at the Wanda Metropolitano.

The Lions are the second most successful team in the tournament having won the title 23 times, and playing in their fifth consecutive Cop del Rey semi-final (W2, L2) should make them comfortable hosting the second leg.

Another confidence booster will be their home record. Bilbao are unbeaten in 14 competitive matches at the Estadio San Mamés (W12, D2), including a 2-0 La Liga win over Atlético in mid-December. Having lost just one of the last six home H2Hs overall (W4, D1), the Copa del Rey specialists are on familiar territory in more ways than one.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid travel to Bilbao in poor form having won just one of their last six competitive games (D2, L3). The last in that sequence was an underwhelming 2-2 league draw with struggling Almería last weekend.

And so, considering they now trail La Liga leaders Real Madrid by 13 points and are 1-0 down to Inter Milan in their Champions League last 16 tie, this is likely their most realistic shot at silverware this term. But realising their Copa del Rey dream would not come easy as they have to overturn a one-goal deficit without the services of José María Giménez and Antoine Griezmann, neither of whom featured against Almería. However, Diego Simeone has other stars that can step up as Los Colchoneros attempt to maintain their run of losing only one of their last six Copa del Rey away fixtures (W5).