Athletic Bilbao vs Granada Match Preview & Prediction

Athletic Bilbao vs Granada predictions, H2H and match preview for this Sunday’s match in La Liga. Read on for analysis and predicted line-ups as the hosts look to keep their good form going.

Athletic Bilbao vs Granada Preview

Two of this season’s fastest starters meet in Bilbao on Sunday as Athletic Club, again in the 2 p.m. slot, take on Granada at San Mames. While the new boys have somewhat predictably fallen away slightly, Athletic have hit form again after a mini wobble and are laying the foundations for a strong European push.

That has to be the objective now for Gaizka Garitano’s side who have been doing the business on a pretty consistent basis since the Basque coach took over this time last year. Last weekend’s 2-1 win at Osasuna means it is 10 points from 4 games for Athletic heading into this one. That burst of form has lifted them into the top six and they will move into 4th place should they claim maximum points here.

For Granada meanwhile, last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid was a significant result. It ended a sequence of 3 straight defeats and gives them something to build from again. It was always going to be unrealistic to expect them to maintain their stunning early season form and Diego Martinez would always have anticipated that a trickier run might have been on the horizon.

The away team’s chances here are boosted by an injury to Iker Muniain, who is comfortably Athletic’s most creative player. However they coped pretty well in his absence at Osasuna with 19 year old Oihan Sancet trusted with a rare start although the Pamplona born midfielder could make way for Ibai Gomez or even Kenan Kodro here with the latter netting a rare goal having come off the bench at El Sadar.

Athletic Bilbao vs Granada Predictions

Score Prediction: 1-0 Athletic

This is likely to be an attritional kind of game. Granada are aware of their limitations and they won’t be afraid to get plenty of numbers back and ask Athletic to find that piece of creativity that might break them down. That’s not always their forte but at San Mames, they’ve won 5 out of 7 this season and lost just 1 of their last 21 in the league and they should find a way to improve on those fine home tallies here although it might not be pretty.

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We have match previews and predictions for every game in La Liga this season.

Athletic Bilbao vs Granada H2H

• Last 6 competitive meetings: 2 Athletic Wins, 2 Granada Wins, 2 Draws.
• Athletic won both meetings the last time these sides were in the same league (2016-17).
• Granada have won on 2 of their last 6 visits to San Mames though with victories in 2011 and 2014.
• The last 12 meetings have been pretty even with 5 Athletic wins to Granada’s 4.

Predicted Line Ups

Athletic Team:

Simon – Capa, Yeray, Martinez, Yuri – Lopez, Dani Garcia – Gomez, Raul Garcia, Cordoba – Williams (4-2-3-1)

Granada Team:

Silva – Diaz, Martinez, Duarte, Quini – Montoro, Herrera – Puertas, Azeez, Vadillo – Soldado (4-2-3-1)

Elsewhere in La Liga this Sunday

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