Athletic Club vs Huesca match preview and predictions for Friday’s LaLiga match. Read on for the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups as the visitors look to build on their first win of the campaign.
- DATE: Friday 18th December 2020
- KICK-OFF: 21:00 (local time)
- VENUE: San Mames
- COMPETITION: LaLiga
Athletic Club vs Huesca Preview
The Friday night game in LaLiga comes from San Mames. It sees Athletic Club play host to a Huesca side that is fresh from their first victory of the season. The Basques will be the clear favourites and while they are generally strong at home, both Cadiz and Celta Vigo have already claimed maximum points from their respective trips to Bilbao so far this season.
Gaizka Garitano continues to face questions about his future. Some may argue that is unjust given the club have barely even made a signing during his tenure yet inevitably at a club the size of Athletic, there are certain expectation levels and a return of 14 points from 13 games so far this term is not really good enough.
This is though an incredibly tight league at the moment. Just 7 points separate the relegation zone from the final European place. Athletic are sandwiched in the middle of that large cluster of sides and a few good results would quickly see them charge up the league towards the top six while a couple of defeats during this busy festive period could see them slip into the bottom three.
Huesca finally won a football match at the 13th time of asking last weekend to become the final side to break their duck in LaLiga 2020/21. Prior to that, Huesca were drawing more than they were losing though and they remain very much in touch with the sides above them and would actually move level on points with Athletic should they claim all the points here.
The Aragonese minnows will be hoping to emulate fellow new boys Cadiz who won here earlier in the season. However their approach will be very different. Huesca are much more patient in possession and don’t break with such speed. Their passing accuracy this season is over 80%, which ranks as the 9th highest in LaLiga and they enjoyed 67% possession in their long-awaited victory against Alaves last time out which came thanks to a super strike from Villarreal loanee Javier Ontiveros.
Read all our weekend LaLiga previews here!
Head to Head
- Last 4 Competitive Meetings: 3 Athletic Wins, 1 Draw.
- This will be only the 3rd ever league meeting.
- The sides drew 2-2 at San Mames in LaLiga 2018/19 while Athletic won 1-0 at Huesca.
- The pair also met in the Copa del Rey that season with Athletic winning both legs 4-0.
Team News
Yeray Alvarez and Raul Garcia are both suspended for the hosts. Asier Villalibre should lead the line as a result with Iker Muniain playing just off him.
Few changes are likely from Huesca following that elusive victory last time out although Rafa Mir may come in up front following his hat-trick in the Copa del Rey.
Predicted Athletic Starting Lineup:
Simon – Berchiche, Martinez, Nunez, Capa – Garcia, Vesga – Berenguer, Muniain, Williams – Villalibre (4-2-3-1)
Predicted Huesca Starting Lineup:
Fernandez – Galan, Siovas, Pulido, Maffeo – Rico, Mosquera – Ontiveros, Garcia, Ferreiro – Mir (4-2-3-1)
Athletic Club vs Huesca Predictions
Score Prediction: Athletic Club 1-1 Huesca
This is a difficult one to call. Athletic were in league rather than Copa del Rey action on Tuesday night and have two significant suspensions here as a result of that defeat in Madrid, as well as most likely a bit of fatigue. Huesca are a bit better than their league position and winless start suggests and this is likely to be an even game and it could well end up all square.
LaLiga Betting Tips (18+)
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