The new La Liga season begins for Athletic Bilbao, who just missed out on a Champions League spot last season due to a crucial loss to Atlético Madrid.
This season, Bilbao will participate in the Europa League after finishing fifth in La Liga and clinching the Copa del Rey.
Their preseason, however, began disappointingly with a 2-1 defeat to the second-tier team Burgos. Conversely, Getafe, anticipated to struggle last season, managed a commendable 12th-place finish, bolstered by the efforts of Mayoral and Greenwood.
Going forward, Getafe is targeting a position in the top half of the league standings, although retaining key players has been a challenge. Like Bilbao, Getafe has been active in preseason, kicking off with a scoreless draw against Coventry from England.
A significant discussion this summer centers on Nico Williams, who, after an impressive performance at the Euros with Spain, caught the attention of major clubs like Barcelona and PSG. Nonetheless, he remains with Bilbao.
Bilbao is also dealing with the absence of crucial players; goalkeeper Unai Simon is out for several months following wrist surgery, and his backup, Agirrezabala, is recovering from a vertebrae fracture.
The club also experienced the departures of several players, including the retirement of Iker Muniain, Imanol Garcia’s transfer to Sparta Prague, and Alex Berenguer, who did not renew his contract.
Getafe has experienced its share of departures too, including Mayoral regaining fitness in preseason, Jaime Mata moving to Las Palmas, and Maksimovic transferring to Panathinaikos.
Despite these roster changes, Getafe has brought in some new faces, such as Peter Federico from Real Madrid and young goalkeeper Letacek from Ostrava, with David Soria remaining as the first-choice goalkeeper.
Prediction
Considering the recent patterns, Athletic Bilbao has consistently played in low-scoring away games, with 15 of their last 21 away matches featuring two or fewer goals. Similarly, Getafe’s home matches have also generally lacked high scoring, with fewer than 2.5 goals in nine of their last 12 games.
Predicted Outcome: Athletic Bilbao 1, Getafe 0
This forecast suggests a tightly contested match likely ending with a minimal win for Bilbao.
