Athletic eye derby lift before the break against Alavés | OneFootball

Athletic return to San Mamés on Saturday aiming to hit the international break on a high against Alavés, kick-off 16.15. Their midweek trip to Valencia proved futile after rain postponed the Levante match. According to El Correo, Edin Terzic keeps stressing the collective comes first and he retains trust in his squad.

The opening five matches have swung from defeats by Sevilla, Yuri’s red proving costly, and Barcelona to wins over Celta and Atlético. The climb stalled with a draw against Elche after missed chances. The Levante postponement froze five planned changes, notably Maroan’s first start and Johaneko at right-back ahead of Jesús Areso and Hugo Rincón.

Terzic has Dani Vivián out for a further couple of weeks and Peio Canales is a doubt, with a fair chance the player from Barrika returns. With the postponement, Iñaki Williams and Gorka Guruzeta, short in Valencia, are now considered fully ready. He will name the squad today.

Alavés travel without Garcés, Rodríguez and Mañas after defeats to Racing and Valencia. Athletic need to be solid if they are to push for Europe, and victory to reach 10 points would help. After the break they face three away games at Rayo Vallecano, Valencia and Levante.

Alavés won at La Catedral last September after two decades without a league victory there. The Bilbao record still reads 15 wins, three draws and two defeats, with 43 scored and 11 conceded. Lucas Boyé has four goals, Mariano three, while Athletic have seven and must lift that.

Source: El Correo

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