Preview: Athletic Bilbao vs Levante - prediction, team news, lineups

Athletic Bilbao will be bidding to triumph in La Liga for the first time since the start of December when they welcome Levante to San Mames on Sunday.

The home side are 11th in the La Liga table, nine points behind sixth-placed Espanyol, while Levante are 19th, five points from 17th-placed Getafe.

Match preview

Athletic have a record of seven wins, four draws and 11 defeats from their 22 league matches this season, with 25 points leaving them in 11th position in the table, just three points above the relegation zone and some 10 points off the top five.

The Lions are 17 points off fourth-placed Villarreal, and they have not been victorious in Spain's top flight since a 1-0 success over Atletico Madrid at the start of December.

Ernesto Valverde's side will enter this match off the back of a win, though, beating Valencia 2-1 in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday night.

Athletic's volume of matches this season has had a big impact on their league form, but they have not progressed in the Champions League, so it will only be domestic football for the club between now and the end of the campaign.

The Lions only have the 13th-best home record in Spain's top flight this season, picking up 17 points from 11 matches, recording five wins in the process.

As for Levante, a record of four wins, six draws and 11 defeats from their 21 league matches this season has left them in 19th spot in the table on 18 points.

The Frogs were knocked out of the Copa del Rey in the middle of December, so each of their last six games have been in La Liga, boasting a record of two wins, three draws and one defeat.

Luis Castro's side will enter this match off the back of an excellent result, drawing 0-0 with Atletico Madrid, while they beat Elche 3-2 on January 23, so four points have been secured from their last two games in Spain's top flight.

Levante have only won eight of their previous 37 matches against Athletic in all competitions, and it was 2-0 to the Lions in the reverse match earlier this season.

The Frogs last overcame Athletic back in December 2018, while their last away success over the Basque outfit was a 3-1 win in April 2018.

Athletic Bilbao La Liga form:

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Athletic Bilbao form (all competitions):

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Levante La Liga form:

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Team News

Athletic remain without the services of Maroan Sannadi, Benat Prados, Unai Egiluz and Oihan Sancet on Sunday through injury, while Alex Berenguer and Dani Vivian are major doubts for the clash with Levante.

Nico Williams and Inaki Williams both came off the bench to help Athletic beat Valencia in the Copa del Rey last time out, and the pair will come into the starting side here.

Gorka Guruzeta is also set to feature in the final third of the field, while Mikel Jauregizar will operate in the middle for the Basque outfit.

As for Levante, Unai Vencedor will be unable to feature against his parent club, while Roger Brugue and Victor Garcia are both injured.

Unai Elgezabal and Diego Pampin will also face late fitness tests.

There remains a host of speculation surrounding Etta Eyong's future at Levante, and the striker, who is thought to be on the radars of a number of major European clubs, will again feature in the final third of the field.

Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:

Simon; Areso, Paredes, Laporte, Berchiche; Ruiz de Galarreta, Jauregizar; I Williams, Gomez, N Williams; Guruzeta

Levante possible starting lineup:

Ryan; Toljan, De la Fuente, Matturro, Sanchez; Martinez, Raghouber; Tunde, Alvarez, Romero; Eyong

We say: Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Levante

This is a tough match to call, as Levante are in good form and will be the fresher of the two sides. That said, we believe that home advantage will allow Athletic to secure a valuable win.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.