Athletic Bilbao Aims for Third Straight Win Against Struggling Elche

San Mamés expects noise, energy and, increasingly, routine home wins. Athletic Bilbao step into Saturday’s La Liga clash with Elche CF riding a wave that is starting to feel like early-season momentum rather than a brief spark.

Edin Terzic’s side sit 9th with six points and the memory of a statement 3-0 victory over Atlético de Madrid still fresh. That result did more than add three points; it sent a message that this Athletic team can punch hard against the division’s heavyweights.

Elche walk into a very different mood.

Two teams, opposite directions

Martín Anselmi’s men arrive in Bilbao with just one point, 19th in the table and weighed down by a string of setbacks. They were edged out 3-2 by Real Sociedad in their last outing, another defeat in a run that now reads three losses in a row.

The numbers paint the picture starkly:

• Four consecutive matches conceding goals
• Four games without a win
• Two away matches in a row without victory

Athletic, by contrast, have stitched together two straight wins and are unbeaten in their last two. The last time these sides met, the Basque club took it 2-1. On form and history, the hosts hold the upper hand.

San Mamés core taking shape

Terzic appears to have found a spine he trusts. Against Atlético de Madrid on 5 September, he sent out:

Unai Simón; Jesús Areso, Aymeric Laporte, Yeray Álvarez, Yuri Berchiche; Iñigo de Galarreta, Benat Gerenabarrena, Robert Navarro; Oihan Sancet; Nico Williams, Iñaki Williams.

It is a side built to press, to run and to hurt teams in transition. With Nico and Iñaki Williams stretching defences and Sancet knitting play between the lines, Athletic have the tools to turn San Mamés into a hostile arena for visiting back lines.

They will have to do it without Unai Egiluz, sidelined with a cruciate ligament tear, but the recent performances suggest Terzic has enough depth and structure to absorb that blow.

Elche searching for a foothold

Elche’s last starting XI, in the 2-3 defeat to Real Sociedad on 7 September, showed a team still trying to find balance:

Matías Dituro; Buba Sangaré, Víctor Chust, Pedro Bigas, Tete Morente; Facundo Buonanotte, Germán Valera, Gonzalo Villar, Javi Morcillo; Fer Niño, Ezequiel Ponce.

There is creativity there, and there are goals, as the scoreline in San Sebastián showed. The problem is at the other end. Elche concede too often, too easily, and every time they open up to chase a game, the back door swings wider.

Away from home, with the noise of San Mamés in their ears and an opponent in form in front of them, that fragility will be tested again.

A crossroads in September

For Athletic, this feels like an opportunity: three wins on the bounce, a climb up the table, and another step towards turning promise into a genuine push for the European places.

For Elche, it already looks like a small early-season crossroads. Do they find a performance that halts the slide, or does another long afternoon deepen the doubts and drag them further into trouble?

San Mamés will have its say.