Bilbao vs Arsenal match review, 11:45 p.m. September 16: Collapse of the 'fortress' San Mames

VHO - Commenting on the match between Bilbao and Arsenal, Champions League qualifying round, coach Arteta and his team are likely to earn all 3 points on the opening day.

Bilbao vs Arsenal form

Bilbao has a pretty bad start to the reception of Arsenal in the opening match of the 2025/26 Champions League qualifying round.

Before the nearly 2-week break to make way for FIFA Days in September, the team under the direction of coach Ernesto Valverde was still full of enthusiasm with a 3-match winning streak in La Liga.

However, after the international matches, Bilbao unexpectedly fell at home to Alaves, the team that finished 15th last season.

If counting the defeat against Osasuna in the friendly match, the Basque team is going through a series of 2 consecutive losses with the same score of 0-1.

Bilbao's declining form has caused them to receive more and more suspicious looks from fans.

Because if they cannot show their best performance, it will be difficult for the San Mames home team to make a good start in the most prestigious tournament in the continent.

This is only the third time in the Champions League era that Bilbao have qualified for the group stage/placement stage, after the 1998/99 and 2014/15 seasons.

Not having a strong enough financial foundation and stable enough quality of personnel has made the Basque team never advance to the knockout round.

This season, the opportunity to pass the classification stage is also full of difficulties for the La Liga representative.

Because they are only ranked in group 4, the home team will have to face very strong opponents such as Arsenal, defending champion PSG, Dortmund, Newcastle, Atalanta, Sporting, Slavia Prague and FK Qarabag.

This is only the first time Bilbao and Arsenal have met in European competition.

However, this past summer, both sides had the opportunity to test their mettle at the Emirates Cup. That was the match where the Gunners proved superior to the visitors from Spain and won 3-0.

Arsenal are in good form in the Premier League, despite facing injury problems

Even though they have to travel to away land, coach Mikel Arteta and his team are still rated higher.

Because besides the disadvantage of the field, the away team has shown to be superior in all other aspects. In the last two seasons, the Gunners have respectively advanced to the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the Champions League.

Thanks to strong investments in the transfer market, Arsenal now has a more balanced and deeper squad.

So despite many key players being injured, the London giants are still playing impressively from the starting line.

In the past 4 rounds of the Premier League, Arsenal won 3 and lost 1, scoring 9 and conceding only 1 goal.

A resounding 3-0 win over Nottingham last weekend will certainly give The Gunners added confidence ahead of their visit to the Basque Country.

Bilbao vs Arsenal squad information

Bilbao: Nico Williams, Benat Prados, Unai Egiluz and Yeray Alvarez are out through injury and suspension. Veteran centre-back Aymeric Laporte is not registered for the match.

Arsenal: Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard are absent due to injury.

Expected lineup Bilbao vs Arsenal

Bilbao: Simon; Areso, Vivian, Paredes, Berchiche; Vesga, Jauregizar; I. Williams, Sancet, Berenguer; Sannadi

Arsenal: Raya; White, Mosquera, Hincapie, Lewis-Skelly; Merino, Zubimendi, Rice; Madueke, Gyokeres, Martinelli

Prediction: 1-2

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/nhan-dinh-tran-dau-bilbao-vs-arsenal-23h45-ngay-169-keo-sap-phao-dai-san-mames-168417.html