Athletic Club host Valencia at San Mamés on 9 May in a league match that pulls both ends of the table into the same night. Athletic have already secured permanence after their win in Vitoria, but they still have a route to Europe through sixth or seventh place. Valencia arrive three points above the relegation zone, with the threat of falling to one point above it if Sevilla and Alavés win their matches.
The game is the penultimate one for Ernesto Valverde at San Mamés, and Athletic want to close a season they have described as very irregular with one last push. Valverde’s side also learned this week that Edin Terzic’s arrival has been made official, adding another layer to a match that sits between the end of one cycle and the start of another. The coach’s message has been clear enough: “La plaza extra en Europa es un aliciente importantísimo.”
That is why Athletic are still treating this as a meaningful fixture despite having already solved the most basic problem of staying up. They are chasing the places that would carry them into Europe, and they know the difference between sixth and seventh could matter when the season is finally tallied. Ruiz de Galarreta and Oihan Sancet could come in for Rego and Unai Gómez in the lineup, while Aymeric Laporte and Yuri are expected to start. Iñigo Lekue, Beñat Prados, Unai Egiluz and Maroan Sannadi were left out of the 23-man squad for technical reasons.
Valencia need a win to move closer to 42 points, the mark that would ease the pressure hanging over their final weeks. Carlos Corberán travels without Lucas Beltrán, and Thierry, Diakahaby, Foulquier and Copete are also absent. Julen Agirrezabala, though, is back in the squad after surgery on his meniscus in March, and the visit carries a personal edge because he returns to San Mamés as a player on loan from Athletic.
That detail gives the night a sharper tone than a normal spring fixture. Athletic are trying to finish with momentum and a European place, while Valencia are trying not to let one bad result turn into a bigger problem. If Athletic get the result they want, they will leave San Mamés with more than three points; they will leave with their season still alive in a way it has not always looked capable of being.
