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Sporting Lisbon will lock horns with Athletic Bilbao in a pre-season friendly at the Estadio Jose Alvalade on Saturday. Sporting are the reigning Liga Portugal champions while Athletic Bilbao finished a respectable fifth in La Liga last term.
Sporting kickstarted their preparations ahead of the 2023-24 season a little over a week ago against Union SG. The Belgian side held the Portuguese giants to a 2-2 draw in an exciting friendly. Ruben Amorim's side subsequently beat Sevilla 2-1 in midweek courtesy of goals from Rodrigo Ribeiro and Francisco Trincao.
After Saturday's outing, Sporting will take on Porto in the Supertaca Candido de Oliveira on August 3 before kickstarting their Liga Portugal title defence on August 9 against Rio Ave.
Meanwhile, Athletic Bilbao began their pre-season with a 2-1 loss against Segunda Division side Burgos. They weathered the pangs of that setback a few days later by beating Racing de Santander 2-1.
Athletic finished fifth in La Liga last term and qualified for the Europa League. They will be looking to improve on that and the enormity of that task is unlikely to be lost on manager Ernesto Valverde or his men.
The Spanish side will also go up against SD Eibar, Osasuna, Aston Villa and VfB Stuttgart in friendlies before they begin their 2024-25 season against Getafe on August 15.
Sporting Lisbon vs Athletic Bilbao Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Sporting Lisbon and Athletic Bilbao have clashed twice in the past and share a win each.
- Sporting scored 96 goals in the league last season, 19 more than Benfica, the second-highest-scoring side in the competition.
- Athletic Bilbao finished fifth in La Liga last season with 68 points, eight points fewer than fourth-placed Atletico Madrid and eight more than Real Sociedad at sixth.
- Athletic had the second-best defensive record in La Liga last season, shipping in just 37 goals in 38 matches in the competition.
Sporting Lisbon vs Athletic Bilbao Prediction
Both teams are looking to ramp up their preparations for the 2024-25 season. This could be an entertaining contest and both teams have the ability to take the game to the opposition. There won't be many goals in this one though with a draw the most likely outcome.
Prediction: Sporting Lisbon 1-1 Athletic Bilbao
Sporting Lisbon vs Athletic Bilbao Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Draw
Tip 2: Game to have under 2.5 goals - Yes
Tip 3: Both teams to score - Yes
