The attention will be on both ends of the table this weekend in La Liga and statistics make disappointing reading for those at the bottom.
The match between Almeria and Athletic Bilbao will take place on the 12th of February at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos.
🏃♂️ Another day of training pic.twitter.com/QPvuWnPKjj— UD Almería (@UDAlmeria_Eng) February 8, 2024
🏃♂️ Another day of training pic.twitter.com/QPvuWnPKjj
This is the final game of the weekend in La Liga and the hosts begin this round of fixtures bottom on 6 points while the visitors are in 5th place on 45 points.
Almeria come into the game on the back of a 2-1 defeat at Valencia in La Liga last weekend. Valencia took the lead in the 14th minute and doubled their advantage 9 minutes later.
Almeria pulled a goal back in the 50th minute but could not find the equaliser in the remaining time.
The defeat at Valencia means Almeria have lost 5 of their 6 most recent fixtures, all of which were played in La Liga.
The additional defeats have come against Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Osasuna away plus Alaves at home. The only game Almeria did not lose was the 0-0 draw at home with Girona.
The stats make grim reading for Almeria and in their 28 most recent matches in La Liga, they have achieved just 1 win.
However, they are undefeated in 3 of their 4 most recent home La Liga games, with all 3 of those matches ending in a 0-0 draw.
Athletic Bilbao make the trip south to the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos having beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 away in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg on Wednesday night.
The only goal of the game was scored from the penalty spot in the 25th minute.
The victory over Atletico Madrid means Athletic Bilbao are undefeated in their 4 most recent fixtures in all competitions.
There have been wins over Barcelona at home in the Copa del Rey and Mallorca at home in La Liga. Athletic Bilbao also picked up a point in the league thanks to a 0-0 draw at Cadiz.
Trends show Athletic Bilbao are undefeated in 24 of their last 27 games in all competitions.
Athletic Bilbao are undefeated in 5 of their 6 most recent away matches in La Liga and under 2.5 goals have been scored in each of their last 5 games on the road.
No defeats can be found in Athletic Bilbao's 11 most recent games against Almeria in all competitions.
Looking ahead to the team news and Almeria are without the suspended Leo Baptistao. Luis Suarez and Arnau Puigmal are injured plus there are doubts over the fitness of Ibrahima Koné.
Athletic Bilbao are without injured defender Iñigo Lekue and Alejandro Berenguer Remiro is struggling with a hamstring injury.
Almeria look set to be relegated this season but can make life difficult for opponents at home. Athletic Bilbao have had much the better of recent meetings between the teams and should come out on top, with just a single goal being the difference.