OM hope for 45,000 at the Vélodrome for Bilbao friendly | OneFootball

OM return to the Vélodrome on Sunday at 17:30 for a pre-season meeting with Athletic Bilbao, with the stadium set to be well short of capacity. According to L'Équipe, around 40,000 tickets have been sold and the club hopes to push that towards 45,000 with late buyers and tourists.

The opposition now stiffens, with Atlético de Madrid and RC Strasbourg due at the Vélodrome inside the next two weeks. Last season’s chaotic campaign, plus a summer trimmed by numerous departures, has weighed on attendances for these early dates.

For comparison, the first of two August 2025 friendlies, against Sevilla, drew close to 60,000 at a time when De Zerbi and his players had generated significant optimism.

Bilbao have not added any new signings to date. Bruno Genesio should name a robust starting line-up.

He has stressed he does not favour talk of a first-choice XI, preferring the idea of a group in which everyone matters. Players who arrived late after the World Cup have been eased in. A few could start against Bilbao, for example Tim Weah, Quinten Timber, Amine Gouiri and Derek Cornelius.

Source: L'Équipe

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