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Leganes will welcome Athletic Bilbao to the Estadio Municipal de Butarque in LaLiga on Thursday. The two teams are separated by two points in the league standings, as Bilbao are 10th with seven points and the hosts are 15th with five.
Los Pepineros had begun their league campaign on a three-game unbeaten streak but have suffered back-to-back losses in their last two outings. They suffered a 2-0 away loss at Real Betis last week, failing to score for the third game on the spin.
The Red and Whites resumed their league campaign after the international break with a 3-2 away win over Las Palmas last week. Oihan Sancet and Nico Williams scored in the first half while Aitor Paredes added the third goal in the second half. Iñaki Williams provided the assists for all three goals.
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Leganes vs Athletic Bilbao Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- There is not much history between the two teams and they have crossed paths eight times in all competitions. They have contested these meetings closely with Bilbao leading 3-2 in wins and three games ending in draws.
- They last met in the 2019-20 LaLiga campaign. Los Pepineros were unbeaten in the two league meetings against the visitors that season, recording an away win while the reverse fixture ended in a draw.
- Seven of the eight meetings between the two teams have produced fewer than 2.5 goals.
- Leganes have won just one of their four home meetings against Bilbao, failing to score in two games while keeping two clean sheets.
- Athletic Bilbao have scored and conceded six goals in five league games thus far.
- The hosts are yet to suffer a loss in a LaLiga game on a Thursday and have picked up three wins out of four games on this day.
Leganes vs Athletic Bilbao Prediction
Los Pepineros have suffered two losses in a row and have failed to score in their last three games. They have won just two of their last nine home games in La Liga, with four games ending in draws. They have scored just two goals in four home games in this fixture.
Borja Jiménez has a clean bill of health for this match and might choose to pair up Miguel de la Fuente with Sébastien Haller.
Zuri-Gorriak registered their first away win of the season last week and will look to build on that form. They scored three goals for the first time in LaLiga since February in the 3-2 win over Girona. They play Celta Vigo at home on Sunday (22 September) and Ernesto Valverde will look to rotate his squad.
Unai Simon remains a long-term absentee while Yeray Álvarez missed the meeting against Las Palmas with a muscle injury and is a doubt. Mikel Jauregizar was sent off last week and will serve a suspension here.
Considering Leganes' drop in form recently and Bilbao's better goalscoring record, the visitors are expected to eke out a narrow win.
Prediction: Leganes 1-2 Athletic Bilbao
Leganes vs Athletic Bilbao Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Athletic Bilbao to win
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Under 2.5 goals
Tip 3: At least one goal to be scored in the second half - Yes
Tip 4: Oihan Sancet to score or assist any time - Yes
