Atletico Madrid vs. Athletic Bilbao: Team News, Preview, Live Stream & TV Info
Atletico Madrid host Athletic Club de Bilbao in one of La Liga's classic matchups.
Both teams are likely to go looking for the win—Atletico so they can cement their third place in the table to hopefully qualify for the Champions League automatically, and Athletic while they still have an outside chance of qualifying for the Europa League.
History tells us that when the mattress-makers do battle with Los Leones, invariably it's Diego Simeone's side that comes out on top.
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Athletic Club have won at the Vicente Calderon three times in the past decade, per Fussball Wettpoint, however, they haven't emerged victorious at the stadium since 2011.
Since then, they've suffered three straight defeats, scoring just once.
With a rampant Barcelona next up at home for Atleti, the need to send Ernesto Valverde's side packing again is obvious.
Date: Saturday, May 2
Time: 5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET
Venue: Vicente Calderon Stadium, Madrid, Spain
TV Info: Sky Sports 5/beIN Sports 1 (USA only)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK only)/beIN Sports Connect (USA only)
Form Lines
| Atletico Madrid | Athletic Bilbao |
| W 1-0 vs. Villarreal | D 1-1 vs. Real Sociedad |
| W 3-0 vs. Elche | W 1-0 vs. Cordoba |
| L 0-1 vs. Real Madrid | W 4-0 vs. Getafe |
| W 2-1 vs. Deportivo La Coruna | L 0-1 vs. Espanyol |
| D 0-0 vs. Real Madrid | D 1-1 vs. Valencia |
| D 2-2 vs. Malaga | L 0-2 vs. Sevilla |
Predicted Formations
The hosts are likely to set their stall out with a classic 4-4-2 formation that has served them well throughout the season, while their visitors are likely to stick with a 4-2-3-1 that favours the ball into their main striker, Aritz Aduriz.
The veteran will keep Atleti's central defensive pairing of Diego Godin and Joao Miranda busy for the entirety of the game, with expert support from the emerging Inaki Williams and Markel Susaeta.
Ager Aketxe has licence to get in among it and will aim to dominate the midfield exchanges with Gabi and Tiago. If Benat and Mikel San Jose can provide adept support, then there is an opportunity to overrun their opponents in the middle of the park.
Arda Turan and Koke will provide the width for the Rojibancos, and the former will surely try to tempt the feisty Mikel Balenziaga into an early yellow card.
Aymeric Laporte and Carlos Gurpegi will be more than ready for their battle royal with Antoine Griezmann and Mario Mandzukic, with Andoni Iraola and Gorka Iraizoz completing the lineup for the visitors.
Jesus Gameza and Juanfran bookend a fearsome defensive unit for Atleti, and Jan Oblak will continue his good form between the posts.
Player to Watch
At 34 years of age, Aduriz is in the form of his life and continues to show that age is no barrier to sporting excellence. Who can forget his wonderful header against Real Madrid earlier in the season.
Superior movement, aerial strength and a keen eye for goal are all facets that mark Aduriz out as the danger man for Athletic Club.
With age also comes experience, of course, and the Los Leones front man won't expend any unnecessary energy over the course of the 90 minutes.
What he will do is be in the right place at the right time. Every time. Joao Miranda and Godin will have their hands full and with Aduriz on the prowl, this game will be far from a foregone conclusion.
Key Battle
As many teams have already found out this season, Mandzukic is a fearsome warrior of a player.
Aerially dominant, he is a typical No. 9 in an old-fashioned, traditional sense. Ping balls into him and they stick.
His hold-up play is second to none and a major reason why Griezmann has flourished during this campaign.
A real handful for first to last, any defender given the job of distilling his influence knows they are in for a bruising encounter.
Laporte might still be just 20 years of age, but there is a £30-plus million price tag on his head for a reason.
The youngster has a maturity in-play that belies his tender years and is already an accomplished centre-back.
Mandzukic's more physical attributes won't worry a player who is building a fearsome reputation of his own, and the outcome of the early exchanges in this particular battle could set the tone for the entire game.
Odds
The following pre-match odds are available, per Odds Shark:
Home Win: 213-100 (+213)
Away Win: 143-25 (+572)
Draw: 67-25 (+335)
Results via WhoScored.com.
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