Preview: Cultural Leonesa vs Athletic Bilbao - prediction, team news, lineups

Cultural Leonesa will host Athletic Club in the Copa Del Rey round of 16 this Tuesday, with the Segunda Division side aiming to cause an upset.

The Basque club come into this fixture off the back of a crushing 5-0 defeat in the Supercopa de Espana semi-final to Barcelona, while the hosts secured a 1-1 draw away to FC Andorra in their last fixture.

Match preview

Cultural enter this Copa Del Rey fixture on the back of a mixed run of form, as across their last six games in all competitions, they have won two, drawn two and lost two.

It is a run of form that has seen them drop down the Segunda Division to 15th, only three points above the relegation zone, so they will be hopeful of a giant killing to breathe new life into their campaign.

Cultural will not be phased that they have to face a La Liga side, as they eliminated Levante from the competition by beating them 1-0 in the last round with a fine defensive display.

Fans will be confident their side will prove to be resolute with the goal, conceding more than one goal in a game on only eight occasions across all competitions this season.

This defensive resilience will be important if they wish to progress to the quarter-finals, as they have found goals hard to come by in their previous six fixtures, averaging less than a goal a game.

Athletic know what it takes to win this competition, lifting the trophy in 2024, and they will be desperate to reclaim their title after surrendering it to Barcelona last season.

Ernesto Valverde's side are currently eighth in the La Liga table, devoid of confidence, having won only one of their last six games in all competitions, and they find themselves 14 points off fourth-placed Atletico Madrid.

While they are still competing in the Champions League, they find themselves 28th in the table, two points off the playoff spots, meaning this may be their only realistic opportunity at lifting silverware this season.

The Lions can take confidence from their previous fixtures against Cultural, as they won all three matches they have squared off against each other in this competition; however, their most recent game against each other was in November 2004.

Cultural Leonesa Copa del Rey form:

W W W

Cultural Leonesa form (all competitions):

W L W L D D

Athletic Bilbao Copa del Rey form:

Athletic Bilbao form (all competitions):

D L W L D L

Team News

Cultural come into his fixture with a clean bill of health from their draw with FC Andorra, which will please fans as it will give them the best chance possible of securing an upset.

In the previous round they were without their captain, Rodri Suarez, and Ruben Sobrino, who were both ruled out through injury, but both were in the matchday squad at the weekend.

Athletic will continue to be without some major names due to injury and suspension, with Yeray Alvarez, Yuri Berchiche, Aymeric Laporte, Benat Prados, Unai Egiluz and Maroan Sannadi all ruled out.

The Lions may opt to name a relatively strong team with one or two changes from the side that lost to Barcelona last time out as they aim to ensure they are in the conversation as potential Copa del Rey champions.

Cultural Leonesa possible starting lineup:

Badia; Hinojo, Barzic, Suarez, Garcia; Tresaco, Ojeda, Chacon, Diallo, Riberio; Collado

Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:

Padilla; Lekue, Paredes, Vivian, Gorosabel; Navarro, Gomez, Sancet, Ruiz de Galarreta, N. Williams; Serrano

We say: Cultural Leonesa 0-2 Athletic Bilbao

The Basque side should have too much quality for Cultural. The Lions have the firepower to edge out the hosts in a contest where they will be attempting to break down a resolute defence.

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