Granada vs Athletic Club Predictions & Match Preview

Granada vs Athletic Club predictions and match preview for Tuesday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups as the hosts look to build on a fine weekend win.

Granada vs Athletic Club Preview

Granada host Athletic Club at Los Carmenes on Tuesday, fresh from hitting six at Mallorca in a key relegation six-pointer at the weekend. Confidence will have to be sky high in the home camp heading into this as a result, but they can’t expect too many favours from the visitors who are fighting hard for European qualification.

After Granada conceded 4 in successive games against Sevilla and Levante under caretaker management, it wasn’t a huge surprise to see them opt for a more defensive coach given they have struggled in that department throughout the campaign. Aitor Karanka appeared to make an instant impact in that regard with his first two games producing 0-0 and 1-1 draws, but few could have predicted what occurred in Palma de Mallorca on Saturday, not least with Javier Aguirre in the opposing dugout.

Notions of a tense, low-scoring relegation six-pointer were quickly erased in an extraordinary game which saw Granada win the biggest game of their season to date 6-2 against a direct relegation rival. Veteran striker Jorge Molina came off the bench to bag a brace and complete the rout and the picture is suddenly looking a lot more positive for Granada. The job is by no means complete though and with only a 2 point advantage on the drop-zone heading into this game, it’s certainly important that they at least take something from it.

Granada might have hoped that Athletic would have fallen out of European contention by this point but that’s not the case. They are just a point off Villarreal in 7th and only 4 points shy of Basque rivals Real Sociedad in the final Europa League place. That situation would be much brighter had they made the most of a number of good opportunities in a 0-0 draw at home to Valencia at the weekend where Marcelino’s side were largely dominant.

Athletic are in pretty good form overall, with only 1 defeat in their last 7 league games. They won in Andalusia in a similar kind of scenario in their last away game, defeating strugglers Cadiz 3-2 so they won’t be put off by what is likely to be a passionate home crowd that will be all too aware of the importance of this fixture.

Head to Head

• Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 3 Granada Wins, 2 Athletic Wins, 1 Draw.
• Granada have won 4 of their last 5 home games against Athletic, including all of the last 3.
• Athletic haven’t won here since a 2-1 win in 2016.
• The sides drew 2-2 in Bilbao earlier this term.

Team News

Latest LaLiga Injuries & Suspensions

Possible Lineups

Granada vs Athletic Club Predictions

Score Prediction: Granada 1-1 Athletic Club

Both sides will be really motivated and hungry for all three points here and it’s a tough fixture to call. Granada have made a great start to life under Aitor Karanka but their 6-2 weekend win was surely something of a freak occurrence and we might see a considerably tighter game here against a solid Athletic side. It wouldn’t be a surprise if it ended up all square.

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