Athletic have to overturn a 1-0 deficit to Osasuna in the home leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie. At least Valverde was able to move on from a frustrating home loss to Barca by completing a La Liga H2H double over Valladolid with a 3-1 win in their last outing, ending a four-game winless La Liga run.
Athletic Bilbao
Questions about his knowledge of Barcelona’s alleged misdemeanours during his title-winning season in 2017/18 is not the distraction that Athletic Bilbao manager Ernesto Valverde needs as he seeks to close the five-point gap to sixth-placed Villarreal. That’s not to mention that between their two upcoming La Liga outings, Athletic also have to overturn a 1-0 deficit to Osasuna in the home leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie. At least Valverde was able to move on from a frustrating home loss to Barca by completing a La Liga H2H double over Valladolid with a 3-1 win in their last outing, ending a four-game winless La Liga run.
Perhaps the greatest relief for Athletic fans would have been seeing their side score the opening goal for the first time in seven competitive matches. The club would benefit enormously from making a habit of that after accumulating one of the league’s finest win rates when scoring first.
Getafe
Getafe climbed out of the relegation zone as one of just six clubs to win three of their last five La Liga games prior to the break, making the most of three home games against bottom-half opposition in a short space of time. Manager Quique Sanchez Flores and his players can’t yet relax, though, knowing they begin this round in the midst of an eight-point squeeze between ninth and 19th place in the table. The international break gave Getafe plenty of time to sharpen up ahead of a crucial quartet of matches against sides above them in the standings, which could set them up for a successful end to the season if they can get through it relatively unscathed.
Having so far taken points home from four of seven La Liga trips to such opposition, Getafe may be able to repeat the drawn reverse H2H (2-2) even despite their ongoing six-game La Liga away run without a clean sheet.
Raul Garcia is Athletic’s most recent goalscorer not only in home La Liga games but also in H2Hs. Thanks in part to his role as a penalty taker, Enes Unal has now scored in six of Getafe’s last seven La Liga games. Getafe’s last nine competitive losses were all by a slim one-goal margin.