Our prediction for this Copa del Rey match:
Sestao
Match Time & Date:
11/01/2020
01:00 PM
Prediction: 0-2
Athletic Bilbao
As expected, Athletic Club kicked off their Copa del Rey campaign with a 3-0 win over Intercity. The Basques are determined to defend the trophy, and we predict that they will, as always, take Saturday’s Spanish Cup game against Sestao River take very seriously. The Lions aim to go all the way in the Copa del Rey, and we are positive that head coach Gaizka Garitano is not going to rest too many first-team regulars in the Estadio Las Llanas clash.
The Tercera Division side are eyeing promotion to Segunda B, meaning that they do not have big ambitions for the 2019/2020 Copa del Rey campaign. Inaki Williams is unlikely to start for Athletic Club, but Basque rising star Asier Villalibre Molina is likely to pose a big threat to the opposition defenders. You should bear in mind that the two teams meet for the first time ever in the Spanish Cup.
Highlighted Player (Aritz Aduriz):
Aritz Aduriz is another Spanish footballer that can be placed in the late bloomers category, having played his best football after the age of 30. The cultured striker has spent his entire career in native Spain, and he was showing promise from the moment he first tasted senior football.
The Basque forward arrived at Athletic Bilbao via Aurrera and Bilbao Athletic, but the first spell at San Mames proved quite disappointing and he went on to kick-start his career at Real Valladolid. Aduriz later returned to Athletic Bilbao to score 22 goals in 82 league outings, and then represented Mallorca and Valencia before returning for the third spell. Little did he know that it would prove to be the most successful stint of his career, with the forward producing some amazing displays in La liga and Europa League, scoring over 95 goals in first four years upon rejoining los Leones.
That proved enough for the striker to end a six-year exile from the national team as Aduriz featured in March 2016 friendlies vs Italy and Romania, scoring on his return against the Azzurri to prove age should not matter when the quality is there.
Highlighted Team (Athletic Bilbao):
Athletic Club (mostly known as Athletic de Bilbao) is a Spanish football club from the Bask region which is playing currently in the Primera Division. The club from Bilbao is playing in the highest Spanish division since its founded in 1928 and is next to Real Madrid and FC Barcelona for a longest period of time in the Primera Division. Athletic de Bilbao used to play until 2012 in the San Mames stadium (also known as La Catedral).
Since 2013 the club is playing in anew stadium. Athletic Bilbao is known for its rivalry with Real Madrid. Atletico Madrid was founded by Bask students in Madrid. The old relationship between both teams is visible in the red blue jerseys of both teams.
The second team Athletic de Bilbao is playing in the Segunda Division B in Spain. Athletic Bilbao won the Primera Division 8 times, the Copa del Rey 24 times, the Spanish super cup 2 times. Athletic de Bilbao didn’t won any prizes in Europe yet but managed to be the runner up in 1977 and 2012 in the UEFA cup.
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