Athletic Bilbao Eye Third Straight Win Against Struggling Elche

Athletic Bilbao welcome Elche CF to San Mamés on Saturday with the mood in Bilbao quietly turning optimistic and the pressure in Elche already starting to bite.

Two teams. Same league. Very different trajectories.

Athletic rising under Terzic

Six points from their opening games have lifted Athletic into 9th, and the manner of their last outing said even more than the numbers. Edin Terzic’s side dismantled Atlético de Madrid 3-0, a statement result that fed straight into the noise and energy of San Mamés.

That night, the XI looked settled and sharp: Unai Simón behind a back four of Jesús Areso, Aymeric Laporte, Yeray Álvarez and Yuri Berchiche; Iñigo de Galarreta and Benat Gerenabarrena controlling midfield; Robert Navarro and Oihan Sancet linking play; Nico Williams and Iñaki Williams stretching Atlético to breaking point.

The spine is clear. The roles are defined. Athletic come into this game on a run of two straight wins and two matches unbeaten, and they have recent history on their side too: the last meeting between these clubs ended in a 2-1 victory for the Basques.

There is a blemish, though. Unai Egiluz remains out with a cruciate ligament tear, a long-term absence that trims Terzic’s defensive options. So far, the form of Laporte and Yeray has covered that loss. Saturday will test that resilience again, even against a side in trouble.

Elche arrive on a slide

Elche travel north with just one point on the board and sit 19th in La Liga. The numbers paint a harsh picture and, right now, they tell the truth.

Martín Anselmi’s team fell 3-2 to Real Sociedad last time out, a defeat that underlined both their attacking potential and their defensive frailty. Matías Dituro started in goal, with Buba Sangaré, Víctor Chust, Pedro Bigas and Tete Morente forming the back line. Facundo Buonanotte, Germán Valera, Gonzalo Villar and Javi Morcillo worked across midfield, while Fer Niño and Ezequiel Ponce led the line.

They scored twice in San Sebastián. It still wasn’t enough.

Elche come into this clash on the back of three consecutive defeats. They haven’t won in four. They’ve conceded in each of those four matches and are also without an away win in their last two on the road. Every trend points in the same direction: they leak chances, they leak goals, and they pay for it.

Momentum versus urgency

San Mamés can feel like a wave when Athletic are on a roll, and right now the hosts have momentum. Two wins in a row. Confidence flowing through the Williams brothers. Sancet knitting attacks together. A defence that just shut out Atlético.

Across from them stands a side searching for something to cling to. Elche need a result, any result, to stop the slide. Anselmi knows that runs like this, if left unchecked, can define a season long before winter arrives.

The last time these clubs met, Athletic edged it 2-1. With the form lines as they are, anything less than another strong home performance would feel like a missed chance for the Basques.

Elche, though, don’t have that luxury. For them, this isn’t just another early-season fixture. It’s an early test of how much fight they really have.