Athletic Club host struggling Elche at San Mamés looking to make it three consecutive La Liga wins. The Basques have recovered strongly after a slow start, following consecutive defeats with clean-sheet victories over Celta (2-0) and a convincing 3-0 win against Atlético Madrid. They sit around 9th–10th with 6 points from 4 games.

Elche are in early relegation trouble, sitting 19th with just 1 point from 4 matches. They have conceded heavily (12 goals) and are without a win, suffering three straight defeats including a recent 3-2 home loss to Real Sociedad.

Form & Context

• Athletic Bilbao: LLWW (recent form). Back-to-back clean sheets and improving momentum under Edin Terzić. Strong at home historically against Elche.
• Elche: Struggling defensively and winless. Fer Niño is their main attacking threat (2 goals).

Head-to-head favours Athletic, who won the most recent meeting 2-1 at San Mamés earlier in 2026.

Team News

Athletic Bilbao
Out: Dani Vivian, Unai Egiluz (ACL), Peio Canales, Gorka Guruzeta (hamstring/muscle). Yeray Álvarez may also be a doubt.
Expected to stick with a similar XI after the Atlético performance: Unai Simón; Areso, Álvarez/Paredes, Laporte, Berchiche; Ruiz de Galarreta, Gerenabarrena; Navarro, Sancet, Nico Williams; Iñaki Williams.

Elche
Out/doubt: Yago Santiago, Adam Boayar. Fer Niño is the key forward.
Possible lineup: Dituro; Sangaré, Chust, Bigas; Morente, Buonanotte/Villar, Morcillo, Valera; Ponce/Lemar, Niño.

Key Battles & Outlook

Athletic’s attacking duo of the Williams brothers, plus Sancet and Navarro, should create plenty of problems for Elche’s leaky defence. The home side’s recent defensive solidity gives them a strong platform. Elche will look to counter and hope for set-piece opportunities or individual quality from Niño, but San Mamés is a tough venue for visitors in this form.

Most previews and models favour a home win, commonly in the 2-0 or 2-1 range.

Prediction

Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Elche

Athletic should continue their positive run and claim a solid home victory against a side still searching for their first win of the season.