Sports Mole previews Monday’s La Liga clash between Athletic Bilbao and Rayo Vallecano, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Athletic Bilbao will be aiming to make it successive wins at the start of the 2025-26 La Liga campaign when they welcome Rayo Vallecano to San Mames on Monday night.
The Basque outfit opened their season with a 3-2 success over Sevilla, while Rayo started their new domestic campaign with a 3-1 victory over Girona, before also triumphing in the Conference League.
Match preview
Athletic finished fourth in Spain’s top flight last season, with the Basque outfit therefore securing a return to the Champions League, and they will again have their eyes on a top-four finish in 2025-26.
The Lions opened their new La Liga campaign with a 3-2 success over Sevilla, and it was a cracking match at San Mames, with the visitors coming from two goals behind to level the scores at 2-2 in the 72nd minute.
However, Robert Navarro won it for Athletic in the 81st minute, with Ernesto Valverde‘s side collecting all three points, and they will now be bidding to put another victory on the board.
Athletic have won 25 of their previous 48 matches against Rayo, and they recorded a 3-1 victory when the two teams last locked horns at San Mames in April 2025.
The Lions are on a four-game winning run against Rayo, while they have not been beaten by the capital side since September 2021, showing the size of the away side’s task on Monday night.
Rayo also triumphed in their first match of the new season, running out 3-1 winners over Girona, with Jorge de Frutos, Alvaro Garcia and Isi Palazon on the scoresheet.
The capital side then followed that up with a 1-0 victory over Neman in the first leg of their Conference League playoff, with the team therefore in a strong position to reach the league phase of the tournament.
Los Franjirrojos finished eighth in La Liga last term, picking up 52 points from 38 matches, and they are certainly capable of again claiming a European spot in Spain’s top flight.
Head coach Inigo Perez will need to balance domestic and European commitments, though, and it remains to be seen whether any further signings are made before the transfer window closes.
Rayo have brought six new players to the club this summer, including Luis Felipe and Fran Perez, while their biggest signing has been Augusto Batalla from River Plate.
Athletic Bilbao La Liga form:
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Rayo Vallecano La Liga form:
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Rayo Vallecano form (all competitions):
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Team News
Athletic will be without the services of Unai Egiluz through injury, while Oihan Sancet and Unai Gomez will both require late fitness tests to determine their availability for the contest.
There are not expected to be any surprises in the Athletic XI for this match, with Nico Williams and Inaki Williams again set to feature in the wide positions.
Meanwhile, there should be another spot through the middle for Maroan Sannadi, who found the back of the net in the team’s opening match of the new season against Sevilla.
As for Rayo, Abdul Mumin is again missing due to an injury issue, while Luiz Felipe and Oscar Valentin are fitness doubts, with a decision on the pair likely to be made at the final moment.
De Frutos was on the scoresheet against Girona, and the attacker should again lead the line for Rayo, while Alvaro Garcia and Palazon are also due to start.
Randy Nteka started against Neman in the Conference League last time out, but he is expected to drop down to the bench for the contest with Athletic.
Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Simon; Areso, Paredes, Vivian, Berchiche; De Galarreta, Jauregizar; I Williams, Berenguer, N Williams; Sannadi
Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:
Batalla; Ratiu, Lejeune, Felipe, Chavarria; Ciss, Lopez; Palazon, Diaz, Garcia; De Frutos
We say: Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Rayo Vallecano
Rayo are a quality outfit, and they are capable of picking up a positive result at San Mames. However, we fancy Athletic to navigate their way to all three points to make it two wins from two matches at the start of the 2025-26 La Liga campaign.
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