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Athletic Bilbao will be desperate to get back to winning ways in La Liga, when they host Valencia on Saturday at the San Mames. Gaizka Garitano's men started the season brilliantly with a shock 1-0 win over reigning champions Barcelona. They followed it up with strong performances against Real Sociedad and Alaves. However, a 1-1 draw against Leganes came as a setback for Garitano and he and his team will be looking to take full points from the Valencia fixture.
In the meantime, the Bats have had a pretty below-par start to their season under new manager Albert Celedes. Valencia are without a win in La Liga in their last three matches, with the latest fixture against Getafe ending in a thrilling 3-3 draw. Coincidently, Valencia also played out a 1-1 against bottom-placed Leganes. Therefore Celedes will be looking for the first league win as the manager of Valencia.
As per BigPesa, the home side are the favourites to win this tie, with odds at 2.11.
Last meeting between the two sides
Valencia reign supreme in the head to head record over their oppositions, Athletic Bilbao. The last meeting between the two sides was won by Valencia with a 2-0 score-line, as Rodrigo Moreno and Kevin Gameiro registered their names on the scoresheet. Last season's fixture at the San Mames ended in a 0-0 stalemate.
Despite that, BigPesa favours the hosts to win and the odds are in their favour at 2.11. A draw is placed at 3.0, while a win for the visitors at 3.45.
Will Valencia’s strong record against Athletic Bilbao be broken this time?
The Los Leones have a perfect record at home this season with wins against FC Barcelona, Real Sociedad and Deportivo Alaves. Therefore Garitano's men will once again get the huge home support from the passionate Basque fans and it will be difficult for Valencia, as they are short on confidence at the moment.
The Bats managed a close 1-0 win against Chelsea in their first group stage win in the UEFA Champions League, which was their only win under the new boss, Albert Celedes. He replaced Marcelino, who guided Valencia to Copa del Rey victory last season. So Celedes will be feeling the pressure if his team does not get going in the league. Even in their last league game against Getafe, they were leading 3-1 at halftime, but the defence faltered and allowed Getafe to comeback in the game.
Considering the form of both sides, Athletic Bilbao are looking slightly ahead of their opposition Valencia, who are still settling under their new manager. As per BigPesa, Aritz Aduriz is the favourite to score in the game, with odds of 2.27 to his name.
